Fitch Affirms Ahli United Bank (Kuwait)’s Long-Term IDR at A+ with a Negative Outlook

Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Ahli United Bank (Kuwait)'s (AUBK) at ‘A+’ with a Negative Outlook. In addition, Fitch has affirmed AUBK’s Viability Rating (VR) at ‘bbb-’.

Ratings Rationale

AUBK’s IDR is driven by support from the Kuwaiti sovereign, which is rated AA/Negative. The Support Rating (SR) of '1' and Support Rating Floor (SRF) of 'A+' are indicative of Fitch’s expectation of high probability of support provided by Kuwaiti authorities to all domestic banks. This is underpinned by Kuwait’s robust ability to support domestic banks irrespective of funding structure, size and level of ownership. The Negative Outlook on AUBK's IDR reflects that of t...