In Riyadh, Fitch Ratings has changed the outlooks of eight Saudi Arabian banks from “stable” to “positive.” The banks’ long-term issuer default rating, or IDR, has been kept at BBB+.
In Saudi Arabia, there are seven banks: Riyad Bank; The Saudi British Bank; Banque Saudi Francis; the Arabian national bank; alinma bank; the investment bank, Saudi Investment Bank; the bank Aljazira; and the Gulf International Bank, which is based in this country.
Fitch said that the rating of these eight banks is based on how well the government backs them. “This applies to all Saudi banks because we think there is a good chance that the Saudi government will help all of the country’s lenders if they need it,” it said.
