Capital Intelligence, the international emerging markets rating agency, has raised the foreign currency ratings of Mashreqbank to BBB+ long-term and A2 short-term, from BBB and A3 respectively. The financial strength rating was upgraded to A-, from BBB+. The support rating is unchanged at 3 and the outlook reverts to ‘Stable’ from ‘Positive’.
The bank, which is among the oldest domestic banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is majority owned by the wealthy Al-Ghurair family. It has a healthy share of Dubai’s corporate banking business and is regarded as a leading provider of retail banking services.
Mashreqbank has performed particularly well in recent years. Its solid performance is attributed to its sound business strategies and its good management team. The bank has redefined its corporate banking strategies and strengthened its risk management processes.
Consequently, asset quality has improved and the risk charge has been reduced. The business base has widened with the introduction of new products such as cash management, third party mutual funds, and automobile insurance among others.
As a result, profitability has improved in recent years. The bank remains strongly capitalized and has maintained consistently good liquidity over the years. Mashreqbank’s good brand name and large customer franchise should enable it to maintain its market share in an increasingly overcrowded financial sector. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
