S&P affirms NBAD ratings at A+/A-1

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed National Bank of Abu Dhabi, or NBAD, long and short-term credit rating of ‘ A+/A-1’.

The rating agency has raised its assessment of Abu Dhabi’s biggest lender’s capital and earnings to “very strong”, and its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to ‘A’ from A-. S&P also rated NBAD’s Outlook “stable”. In its report the agency added: “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that NBAD will remain a dominant player in the UAE, with no significant change in its ownership or business and financial profiles over the next two years.”

S&P based its rating on NBAD’s “strong” business position, “very strong” capital and earnings, “strong” risk position, “average” funding and “adequate” liquidity. NBAD is rated Aa3/P1 by Moody’s and AA-/F1+ by Fitch giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any Middle Eastern financial institution. “Our revision of the capital and earnings score was triggered by a more positive view on the Bank’s capitalisation,” S&P said.

“Our risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio before adjustments based on NBAD’s 2011 financial statements stood at an estimated 15.9 per cent at year-end 2011, which compares very favourably in a global context.NBAD has lower risk-weighted assets than its peers given the significant portion of its lending exposure.”