The international credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) recently confirmed Gulf International Bank's (GIB) standalone baseline credit assessment, long-term deposit and short-term ratings. The Moody's rating committee confirmed GIB's Prime-2 short-term rating and Baa1 long-term deposit rating, while changing the outlook to negative from ‘on review for downgrade'. The bank's standalone baseline credit assessment was also confirmed unchanged at ba1. This completed Moody's rating action following the placement of the bank's ratings under review for downgrade last March 7. The confirmation of the ratings was driven by Moody's view that "the bank's standalone profile will remain resilient despite the challenging environment, given the bank's strong asset quality metrics, and capital and liquidity buffers". In their press release, Moody's said "GIB's asset quality profile is strong and has been on an improving trend". Other factors that contributed to the confirmation of the ratings were the capital, and the funding and liquidity profiles of the bank. Abdulaziz A. Al-Helaissi, GIB's Chief Executive Officer, said "the confirmation of the long-term deposit rating at Baa1 is a very positive outcome in the current circumstances, at a time of downward pressure on bank ratings. The confirmation of the standalone baseline credit assessment, without shareholder support, is a reaffirmation of GIB's fundamental financial strength and risk appetite. It is also a validation of the actions taken to transform the bank through the adoption of a new business strategy to be a pan-GCC universal bank." GIB is owned by the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund owns 97.2% of GIB. Gulf International Bank (GIB) is a pan-GCC universal bank that specializes in corporate and investment banking and has a growing retail footprint. In addition to its main subsidiaries, London-based Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd., and Riyadh-based GIB Capital LLC, it has branches in London, New York, Abu Dhabi, Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah with representative offices in Dubai and Beirut. — SG
