Reflecting strength of the Bank’s financial core
Kuwait, 22 May 2023: Burgan Bank announced that Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings), the international credit rating agency, has affirmed the Long-term Foreign Currency and the Short-term Foreign Currency of Burgan Bank ratings at “A+” and “A1”, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings also affirmed Burgan’s Bank Standalone Rating at “bbb+”, Core Financial Strength rating at “bbb+”, and Extraordinary Support Level at “High”. The latest rating comes as a testament to the Bank’s solid financial core and stable standing.
Moreover, CI Ratings mentioned that Burgan’s ratings are supported by good overall asset quality, particularly in the core Kuwait market, solid credit loss absorption capacity, and sound capital adequacy. It also noted that the non-financial supporting factors include Burgan’s good business model and franchise, particularly in Kuwait, and majority ownership by KIPCO Group.
Capital intelligence added despite the lack of government ownership, willingness to support is also considered to be strong given Burgan’s systemic importance (D-SIB) within Kuwait, the continuing blanket guarantee by the Kuwaiti government of customer deposits placed domestically, and the government’s track record in dealing with other banks in financial distress.
Concluding its report, the rating agency asserted that the Outlook remains “Stable”.
Commenting on Capital Intelligence Ratings’ announcement, Khalid Al Zouman, Group Chief Financial Officer at Burgan Bank, said: “We take pride in maintaining sound credit ratings from Capital Intelligence and consider it a testament to Burgan’s strong and stable standing. We continue to place great importance on our strategic priorities, which include asset reallocation, digital transformation, human development, and sustainability, as they positively contribute to the overall direction of our franchise and business. Moreover, we are particularly pleased about presenting good overall asset quality and maintaining a low NPL ratio, especially in the core Kuwait market, which has been our key focus recently. In this coming year and beyond, we look forward to continuous growth, further improvements, and future development.”
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