International rating agency Standard and Poor’s has assigned an AAA rating to the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with a stable outlook. The rating was based on the bank's strong capitalization and highest performance of its development-related asset portfolio despite financing its Least Developed Member Countries (LDMCs).
IDB also has the lowest ratio of its development-related assets to shareholders' equity among AAA-rated Multilateral Development Financing Institutions including the World Bank, according to a Standard and Poor’s statement. The rating was also based on the IDB's strong liquidity position characterized by liquid assets, amounting to 31 percent of its total assets at year-end 2002.
IDB, which was established by Articles of Agreement in October 1975, is a multilateral financial institution of the Muslim world. The purpose of IDB is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities, individually as well as jointly, in accordance with the principles of the Shariah, the Islamic law.
The present membership of IDB consists of 54 countries. IDB is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with regional offices in Rabat, Morocco, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Almaty in Kazakhstan. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
