National Bank of Abu Dhabi announced today that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P)had assigned ‘A/A-1' long- and short-term credit ratings to National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
This is the first full interactive rating assigned to a bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The rating is the strongest amongst Middle East commercial banks. The rating compares favourably with ratings of other banks in Europe, North America and Australasia, and underlines the strength of NBAD, Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.
NBAD is the largest bank in the UAE with total assets of US$15.3 billion at 31-Dec-2004. The bank has also a leading position in UAE in terms of loans at US$9.6 billion, deposits at US$10.5 billion and net 2004 profits of US$310 million. The government of Abu Dhabi has a 72.96% shareholding in NBAD through the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
Standard & Poor's rating reflects the bank's high profitability, strong asset quality, ownership structure, importance to the economy, and status of flagship bank.
