Bank of Sharjah'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 bank's good management, solid capitalisation and consistently strong financials underpin the ratings.

BOS is a very profitable bank with return on average assets that are significantly higher than the industry average. Its strong earnings are attributed to the healthy growth of core income, both net interest and non-interest, and low operating costs and provision charges. The Bank's asset quality ratios have been sound for several years. BOS has performed well in the current year. The capital increase following the conversion of bonds in March 2008 has placed BOS in a strong position to expand its major businesses.