Fitch revises eight Saudi banks’ outlook to positive

Fitch Ratings has revised eight Saudi Arabian banks’ outlooks to positive from stable while affirming the banks’ long-term issuer default rating, also known as IDR at BBB+.

The banks are Riyad Bank, The Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank, Alinma Bank, Saudi Investment Bank, Bank Aljazira, and Gulf International Bank — Saudi Arabia.

Fitch said the rating of these eight banks is driven by their government support ratings. “This is applied to all Saudi banks, reflecting our view of a high probability of support for all the country’s lenders from the Saudi authorities, if needed,” it said.