DUBAI: GFH Financial Group announced Fitch Ratings, the international credit rating agency, has reaffirmed the Group’s rating Long-and Short-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with the outlook on the Long-Term IDR as ‘Stable’.
The reaffirmation of the Group’s ratings reported by Fitch takes into account the management’s strategic objective of reshaping GFH’s business model towards more stable and recurring revenue sources such as fee generation and lower-risk fixed income assets.
The report also cited the fact that GFH has continued to grow its money market activities, as reflected in liquid assets accounting for an average of 24.3% of assets in 2019, compared with 9.7% in 2018.
Fitch sees Sukuk issuance of USD500 million in 2020 across two tranches has helped to strengthen GFH’s liquidity.
The management are pleased once again with the ongoing recognition from Fitch and the market of the positive momentum that the Group continues to maintain across its key business lines.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020’s slump in oil prices, the Group’s diversified business provides a solid platform to take advantage of current market dislocations, which the management expect will help GFH deliver a robust financial performance in 2020.
GFH Financial Group BSC (GFH) is a leading and dynamic financial group in the GCC region, with a diversified offering and pioneering track record. Headquartered in Bahrain’s Financial Harbour, we’re listed on three stock exchanges in the GCC, including the Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), where we are one of the most liquid and actively traded stocks.