Emerging markets rating agency Capital Intelligence has downgraded the long- and short-term foreign currency ratings of Taib Bank, the small Bahrain-based investment bank, to BB+ long-term and B short-term from BBB-/A3. Taib specializes in corporate finance, asset management, brokerage, real-estate and treasury services.
The agency commented that for the first six months of 2002, Taib recorded a loss of $6.6 million The loss was mainly the result of the decline in market valuations of the bank’s trading portfolio, highlighting continued weak market conditions and the slow down in private equity markets.
The bank’s investment in Taib Funds, which are mainly managed by external fund managers, recorded a loss of around $3.5 million. The bank’s investment in high grade fixed income instruments suffered valuation losses of approximately four million dollars.
Taib hopes to exit from a couple of private equity investments and real estate investments before the year-end as well as acquiring more properties in both the US and UK. However, the private equity market remains very depressed as does fixed income activities.
Operating conditions remain affected by global market weakness together with increased regional tension. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
