National Bank of Fujairah's foreign currency long-term rating raised to A- by Capital Intelligence

The upgrade follows a re-assessment of the ability and willingness of the UAE authorities to provide support if necessary. The likelihood of official support takes into account, inter alia, recent improvements in sovereign creditworthiness and Capital Intelligence's expectation that the government of Abu Dhabi would ultimately be willing to help distressed financial institutions owned by the federal and / or local governments, should the need arise.

The foreign currency short-term rating is maintained at A2 and the financial strength rating at BBB+. All ratings have a Stable outlook. The principal factors supporting the ratings are the Bank's good management, long track record of delivering consistently good earnings and overall sound financials.

NBF's asset quality is sound, with low levels of NPLs, good coverage ratio and relatively low
customer concentrations. The credit book continues to be largely short-term in nature although long-term exposures are rising with the Bank's diversification into retail loans and real estate lending. The Bank is very profitable with higher than industry average return on average assets.

NBF's low risk provision charge and strong non-interest income underpin its good operating
profitability. Liquidity is satisfactorily managed; a moderately high level of liquid and quasi-liquid assets offset the risks associated with customer concentrations in the deposit base. The capital ratio has fallen over the last few years but is still at an acceptable level.