Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Wednesday it has raised its long-term counterparty credit rating on Saudi Arabia-based bank Samba Financial Group (Samba) to ‘A+' from ‘A'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we affirmed our ‘A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating on Samba. “The rating action reflects our view that Samba's financial profile has continued to strengthen, on support from a resilient financial performance, solid capitalization, and strong funding and liquidity indicators,” said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Nicolas Hardy. We also consider that Samba benefits from a superior market position in Saudi Arabia and a supportive business mix between retail and corporate banking. The long-term rating includes a one-notch uplift above the bank's stand-alone credit profile. “We classify Samba as a highly systemically important bank in Saudi Arabia.” The stable outlook “reflects our expectation that Samba will maintain its leading commercial position, solid capitalization, balanced risk profile, and solid operating revenues.”
