By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has assigned the Sumer Commercial Bank (SCB) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'CCC+', and Viability Rating (VR) at 'ccc+'. It says the rating reflects the bank's "weak operating environment, limited franchise, unstable business model and weak profitability". More here. (Source: Fitch Ratings)
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has said that Iraq's government debt is set to fall steeply as a share of GDP in 2022, bringing it to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels. It adds that while this is positive for the sovereign's creditworthiness, the decline may not be sustainable, as it partly reflects political tensions that have constrained […]
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has assigned the Kurdistan International Islamic Bank (KIIB) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'CCC+', and Viability Rating (VR) at 'ccc+'. It says the rating reflects the bank's "weak franchise, unstable business model and operations in the highly volatile operating environment of Iraq". More here. (Source: Fitch Ratings)
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has assigned the Erbil-based Region Trade Bank for Investment and Finance Private Shareholding (RTB) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'CCC+', and Viability Rating (VR) at 'ccc+'. It says the privately-owned bank has minimal market shares in Iraq, no competitive advantages and limited distribution capabilities. More here. (Source: Fitch […]
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has assigned Gulf Commercial Bank (GCB) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'CCC+'. GCB is a privately-owned bank, headquartered in Baghdad and regulated by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI). More here. (Source: Fitch Ratings)
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on Iraq's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at 'B-'. More here. (Source: Fitch)
The Iraqi government's proposal to shrink public-sector payrolls and pension costs as part of efforts to reduce fiscal imbalances and ease financing strains could slow the depletion of foreign-exchange reserves, but will be tough to implement and risks aggravating social unrest, says Fitch Ratings. More here. (Source: Fitch)
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Trade Bank of Iraq's (TBI) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B-' with Negative Outlook. A full list of rating actions is below. The Negative Outlook mirrors that on the sovereign. This reflects the impact of oil price slump on Iraq's fiscal and external finances, near-term uncertainty over […]
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook for the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) from "Stable" to "Negative". In a statement, it says that TBI's Issuer Default Rating (IDR)s are driven by the bank's Viability Rating (VR) and underpinned by potential sovereign support. "The revision of the Outlook to Negative from Stable follows […]
Fitch Ratings has assigned Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B-' with Stable Outlook. According to Saudi Gazette, this makes TBI the first bank in Iraq to get B- from Fitch. IDRS AND VIABILITY RATING TBI's IDRs are driven by the bank's Viability Rating (VR) and underpinned by potential […]
By John Lee. Iraq opened the books yesterday on its first independent bond sale in a decade. "Investor demand was huge," writese Marcus Ashworth at Bloomberg. "The deal was seven times oversubscribed." The $1-billion, dollar-denominated bond, maturing in March 2023, was expected yield 7 percent, but demand enabled that to be cut to 6.75 percent. […]
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Iraq's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at 'B-'. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at 'B-' and the Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at 'B'. KEY RATING DRIVERS The revision of the Outlook reflects the following key rating drivers: Iraq's fiscal […]
