Fitch upgrades 8 Saudi banks to 'A-'; outlook ‘Stable’

Fitch Ratings upgraded eight Saudi banks' Long-Term (LT) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to “A-” from “BBB+”, with a “Stable” outlook.

The banks are Riyad Bank, The Saudi British Bank (SABB), Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), Arab National Bank (ANB), Alinma Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB), Bank AlJazira and Gulf International Bank (GIB).

"The rating actions follow an action on Saudi Arabia's sovereign rating on April 5, 2023, and reflect the agency's view on increased probability of support the banks can get from Saudi Arabia's authorities," Fitch said in a report today, April 17.

The rating agency added that the authorities have a strong ability to provide support to the banking system, given their large external reserves and increased access to external markets.

Fitch also considers the authorities to still have strong willingness to support the banking system to maintain stability in the domestic financial system.