Fitch Ratings upgraded Saudi National Bank's outlook from negative to stable, citing its resilient financial metrics and an improving operating environment.
The credit rating agency also affirmed the lender’s long-term issuer default rating at "A-". It assigned a national long-term investment grade rating of "AA+(sau)" with a stable outlook.
“The revision of the outlook reflects our view that pressures on the operating environment from the pandemic and lower oil prices have eased sufficiently, and that the financial metrics of the bank have been resilient in the past quarters, despite these pressures,” Fitch said.
“Strong financing growth will continue to support the bank’s metrics in 2021.”
The lender's first-quarter net profit jumped 20 per cent to 3.4 billion Saudi riyals ($907 million), boosted by higher fee income and lower impairment charges as the kingdom’s economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brent, the international benchmark for up to two thirds of the world’s oil, rose by 0.59 per cent to close at $73.51 on Friday, the end of trading week. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge for US crude, was up 0.84 per cent to close at $71.64.
Fitch said SNB’s "A-" viability rating, which represents its view of the lender’s creditworthiness, was underpinned by “a strong company profile supporting well-diversified and resilient earnings, strong funding and liquidity, as well as sound asset quality and capitalisation”.
SNB, Saudi Arabia's biggest lender, was created through the merger of National Commercial Bank and smaller rival Samba Financial Group. It began to operate on April 1 and has more than 896bn riyals ($239.2bn) in assets.
The bank's exposure to the retail segment fell from 50 per cent to 39 per cent of total loans at the end of last year as a result of Samba’s strong corporate focus, the credit rating agency said.
SNB's retail loans are expected to rise between this year and 2022 due to a high appetite for that segment, supported by a strong domestic franchise, said Fitch.
“We believe the strengthening of the franchise, fostering non-interest bearing customer deposits and rapid loan growth in the high-yielding mortgage segment will support SNB’s earnings generation,” the rating agency said.
In addition to improving business conditions, this should support a recovery in the core profitability measure by 2022, it said.
The Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, is the biggest shareholder in SNB with a 37.2 per cent stake. The Public Pension Agency has 7.4 per cent and the General Organisation for Social Insurance owns 5.8 per cent of the lender.
Saudi Arabia said last week that it is merging general insurance and public pension funds to create a public sector entity with $29bn in domestic and foreign stock holdings.
The combination of the two state-run funds is an extension of “continuous reforms” and part of an organisational restructuring process, in line with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan, said on Thursday.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
HOW TO WATCH
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Company%20profile
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The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
