S&P Affirms Saudi Arabia’s Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment Rating at ‘4’

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) has affirmed Saudi Arabia’s Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) at ‘4’ (on a 10-point scale, with 1 representing the lowest risk) during a recent review. S&P also affirmed the economic risk rating as well as the industry risk rating at ‘5’ and ‘3’, respectively.

As part of S&P’s evaluation of industry risk, S&P has revised downward the assessment of the institutional framework from low risk to intermediate risk. S&P also added that it now considers Saudi Arabia’s regulatory framework comparable with its peers, having previously found it more conservative in terms of limiting the risk appetite in the banking...