Fitch affirms Qatar National Bank at 'A+'; Outlook Stable

QNB's IDRs are support driven and reflect the extremely high probability of support available to the bank, if required, from the State of Qatar, which holds a 50% stake in the bank via the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Other factors supporting this view include QNB's systemic importance as Qatar's largest bank and its status of being the primary banker to the government / public sector.

QNB's financial ratios are broadly sound, and the only area of some concern is the fast growth in lending, especially the relatively high exposure to real estate. Fitch, however, stresses that these are sector-wide issues and QNB's asset quality remains sound. Fitch considers the bank's dominant franchise, robust profitability, funding profile, liquidity and capitalisation as key Individual rating strengths. The rating is, however, constrained by its relative size compared to other major GCC and international banks and the bank's reliance on Qatar for the majority of its business. Fitch views positively QNB's selective international expansion and its recent acquisition of a 30% stake in Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Jordan's second-largest bank.

QNB was Qatar's first commercial bank and is by far the country's largest bank in terms of assets, equity and profitability. Listed on the Doha Securities Market (DSM), QNB is majority-owned by the QIA, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and the balance is free-floating (no individual or entity owns more than 2%). The bank is very closely linked to government and government agencies - a relationship that, in Fitch's opinion, provides a significant competitive advantage in terms of sourcing business volumes. QNB's domestic network, the largest in Qatar, comprises 41 conventional branches and 11 Islamic branches, 130 ATMs and over 3,000 points of sale.