Fitch drops six Omani banks

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded the long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings of Ahli Bank, Bank Dhofar, Bank Sohar and National Bank of Oman to BBB- from BBB.

The agency also downgraded Bank Muscat's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to BBB from BBB+ and HSBC Bank Oman's to A- from A.

Fitch said the downgrades reflect a change in its assessment of Oman's ability to support its domestic banks for all banks except HSBC Bank Oman. In the case of HSBC Bank Oman, the downgrade reflects the agency’s perception that Omani transfer and convertibility risk has slightly increased, capping the parent's ability to support its subsidiary at A- (previously A).

The outlooks on all the long-term issuer default ratings are stable because the agency does not anticipate further weakening of the Omani authorities' ability to support domestic banks, or heightened transfer and convertibility risks, in the foreseeable future.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.