Fitch places credit ratings of Qatari banks on negative watch (updated)

The Commercial Bank (P.S.Q.C.)

25/10/2021 13:37

(Adds four more banks)
    DUBAI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Credit ratings agency Fitch
Ratings indicated on Monday it could cut the ratings of all
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. 
    It also added Qatar National Bank  QNBK.QA , Commercial Bank
 COMB.QA , Ahli Bank  AABQ.QA  and Qatar International Islamic
Bank  QIIB.QA  on negative watch.
    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.

 (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Kirsten Donovan,
Susan Fenton and Paul Simao)
 ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))