Capital Intelligence ups Banque Saudi Fransi rating to ‘A+’

Capital Intelligence (CI) on Monday said it has raised the Financial Strength Rating of Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) to “A+” from “A,” supported by the bank’s sound and improved liquidity, strong growth in demand deposits, and continued high use of medium/long-term funding.

“BSF is beginning to reap the benefits of its three-year restructuring program, which redirected the Bank’s retail marketing focus, cleaned up the corporate loan book, and instituted a review of the Bank’s network and a revamping of its credit approval process, “ CI said. 

The rating, however, is constrained by slow operating profitability and by the fact that liquidity ratios are still somewhat tighter than those of the bank’s peers, CI said.

Supported and constrained by the same factors, CI said it has maintained the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating for the bank at “A+” and the Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating at “A1.”

All ratings continue to carry a “stable” outlook, it added.