S&P's rates Qatar Islamic Bank 'A-/A-2' with stable outlook

In a move that reflects Qatar Islamic Bank’s (QIB) sound financial position and business strategy, Standard & Poor's recently assigned its ''A-'' long-term and ''A-2'' short-term counterparty credit ratings to QIB with a stable outlook rating on the long-term. S and P, which rates QIB for the first time, hailed the bank’s business position, its leading position in the fast-growing Qatari Islamic banking segment and its business model and management. S and P views QIB's capital and earnings are "strong’. It expects the bank to register strong loan growth and believes its operating margins should largely remain stable, enabling the bank to continue to operate with healthy internal capital generation. It also expects QIB's pre-provision earnings generation to remain healthy in the coming years. Founded in 1982 and listed on the Qatar Exchange in 1997, QIB is a Qatari shareholding company , which provides banking services in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia and as per the regulations of Qatar Central Bank.