Fitch places credit ratings of 4 Qatari banks on negative watch | Reuters

Fitch places credit ratings of 4 Qatari banks on negative watch | Reuters

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings indicated on Monday it could cut the ratings of four banks in Qatar, saying it was concerned over the sector's increasing reliance on external funding and a recent rapid growth in assets.

Fitch placed Doha Bank (DOBK.QA), Al Khalij Commercial Bank (KCBK.QA) Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) and Dukhan Bank on "ratings watch negative", meaning it sees a greater potential for a downgrade in their ratings.

All four banks have an A credit rating from Fitch.

The Qatari banks' reliance on "external funding, coupled with the large size of the banking system, could have moderately weakened the authorities' ability to support the banking sector," the ratings agency said in a statement.

Foreign funding was $193 billion at the end of August, Fitch said, representing 48% of the Qatari banking sector's liabilities compared with $121 billion and 38% at the end of 2018.

Foreign assets were "broadly stable" and the banking sector's net external debt was $133 billion, representing 82% of expected gross domestic product (GDP) this year, it said.