Fitch revises #Saudi National Bank's outlook on lender's resilience and improving environment | The National

Fitch revises Saudi National Bank's outlook on lender's resilience and improving environment | The National

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.