Fitch affirms SABB at 'BBB+', revises outlook to Stable

The building of SABB

Fitch Ratings affirmed Saudi British Bank's (SABB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB+', upgrading the outlook to Stable from Negative.

The outlook revision reflects the agency’s view that pressures on the operating environment from the pandemic and lower oil prices have eased sufficiently, and the bank's financial metrics have been resilient in the past quarters, despite these pressures.

Moreover, SABB’s viability rating (VR) reflects its strong capital base, sound funding and liquidity, and adequate company profile.

“SABB has a solid domestic franchise. The bank maintains an overall market share in lending of about 10%, with a primary focus on corporate lending,” Fitch added.