Moody's lowers several Oman banks

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the long-term local- and foreign-currency deposit ratings of four Omani banks, including Bank Muscat SAOG, HSBC Bank Oman SAOG, Bank Dhofar SAOG and National Bank of Oman SAOG.

At the same time, Moody's affirmed the long-term local currency deposit rating of three banks: Bank Sohar SAOG, Oman Arab Bank and Bank Nizwa SAOG.

Moody's also said it downgraded the long-term foreign currency deposit ratings of Sohar International and Oman Arab Bank.

Moody's also said it affirmed the long-term foreign currency deposit rating of Bank Nizwa.

Moody's said it maintained a negative outlook on all seven banks.

These actions follow the downgrade on the government of Oman with negative outlook due to the government's weakening capacity to support the local banks, the agency said, as well as the weakening operating environment in the country.

The country has a weakened fiscal capacity to support the country's banks if needed, Moody's said.

Oman's fiscal metrics are negatively affected by moderate oil prices, the agency said.

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