Fitch upgrades Middle Eastern banks

Fitch Ratings said it upgraded the support ratings of 25 Middle Eastern banks to 1 from 2 after conducting a review of support across the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The agency said the update affirms and strengthens its long-held view that the probability of support for the Gulf Cooperation Council banks is very high based on examples of past support, the small number of banks in most systems, often with significant market shares, and the prevalence of government stakes.

"What has changed is the significant improvement in public finances reflected in stronger sovereign ratings, which has given the Gulf Cooperation Council governments a greater ability to support more banks to a higher rating level, and which in turn has reinforced our confidence in the governments' propensity to do so," Robert Thursfield, director in Fitch's financial institutions group, said in an agency rating.

Banks affected include Bahrain's Ahli United Bank, BBK and National Bank of Bahrain; Kuwait's Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Real Estate Bank and The Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East; Qatar's Commercial Bank of Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank and Doha Bank; Oman's Bank Muscat; Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank, National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank and Samba Financial Group; the United Arab Emirates' Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Gulf Bank, Mashreqbank, Union National Bank, Bank of Sharjah, National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah and Dubai Islamic Bank; and the United Kingdom's Ahli United Bank and Gulf International Bank.

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