Fitch upgrades Bank Muscat's individual rating to 'B/C'.Fitch Ratings has upgraded Oman-based Bank Muscat's (BM) Individual rating to 'B/C' from 'C' and affirmed its other ratings at Long-term Issuer Default (IDR IDR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Indonesian Rupiah. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) 'A-' (A minus) with Stable Outlook, Short-term IDR 'F2' and Support '1'. The Support Rating Floor is affirmed at 'A-' (A minus). Fitch has also affirmed BM's EMTN EMTN Euro Medium-Term Note programme ratings at senior debt 'A-' (A minus)/'F2' and subordinated debt 'BBB+'. The upgrade of the Individual rating reflects the continued growth in BM's regional franchise and significantly increased capitalisation following the share placement with Dubai Financial Group (DFG DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council) DFG Department of Fish and Game DFG District Factor Group DFG Data Flow Graph DFG Difference Frequency Generation DFG Diode Function Generator DFG Dog Faced Gremlin ) in November 2007. The Individual rating also reflects the bank's dominant franchise in Oman, consistent profitability, sound and improving asset quality and diversified funding structure, but also tight liquidity ratios and some loan and deposit concentrations. The IDRs, Support rating and Support Rating Floor reflect the extremely high probability of support from the Omani authorities, should the need arise. This is based on the strong history of support from the Central Bank of Oman The Central Bank of Oman was established in December 1974 and began operations on 1st April 1975. It replaced the Oman Currency Board as the principal currency authority in Oman. , the bank's dominant franchise with a market share in Oman of around 43% of total assets and its 17% ownership by the Royal Court Affairs (a division of the Oman government). BM was established in 1982 and listed on the Muscat Securities Market The Muscat Securities Market is the principal stock exchange of Oman. It is located in Muscat and it was founded in 1988. Its name is abbreviated to MSM. Operations MSM-30 stock index The principal stock index at the MSM is the MSM-30. in 1993. It is Oman's largest bank after a number of mergers and acquisitions and is active in retail and commercial banking, investment banking, treasury and asset management. It has a 49% stake in Bank Muscat International in Bahrain, a branch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and a representative office in Dubai. It currently holds a 17.3% stake in Centurion Bank of Punjab The Centurion Bank of Punjab (formerly Centurion Bank) is an Indian private-sector bank, providing retail and corporate banking services. History
The Royal Court Affairs is BM's largest shareholder. In November 2007, DFG acquired a stake in BM, equivalent to 15% of share capital post-placement, for OMR (Optical Mark Reader) A scanner that reads marks on specific areas of the page. See mark sensing. OMR - Optical Mark Reader 238.3m, which increased the bank's equity by around two-thirds and will support BM's planned asset growth and overseas expansion. [c] 2008 Mena Report (www.menareport.com) |
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