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Tribune News network
Doha
Masraf Al Rayan's (MAR) UK subsidiary Al Rayan Bank, has become the first Islamic bank in Britain to receive an Aa3 rating from Moody's Investors Service, a press statement said on Sunday.
Citing Al Rayan Bank's sound asset risk profile, robust capitalisation and sufficient liquid resources as credit strengths, Moody's rated the bank's counterparty risk assessment to Aa3 (equivalent AA-), and its baseline credit assessment (BCA) to A2 (A) with the support of its parent Masraf Al Rayan, and Baa2 (BBB) independently.
Al Rayan CEO Sultan Choudhury, said,"This credit rating marks an important milestone in the history of Al Rayan Bank. Since the acquisition by Masraf Al Rayan in 2014, we have implemented a growth strategy to strengthen the balance sheet and build a high credit quality and stable asset book.
"We very much value the on-going backing from our parent, Masraf Al Rayan, and the Qatar Investment Authority, both of which support our position in the UK. Moody's credit rating recognises the significant progress that we have made in recent years."
Amir Firdaus, treasurer at Al Rayan said,"The credit rating enables further diversification of the bank's funding. We will provide alternative opportunities for the wholesale markets that are competitive as well as ethical.
"Banks, local authorities, other institutional investors as well as our established retail customer base will be reassured by the strong credit rating that Moody's has assigned to Al Rayan Bank, providing them exposure to the Islamic finance markets."
Al Rayan has been a pioneer of British Islamic banking since it was founded in 2004. The bank has enjoyed unprecedented recent growth in recent years. The value of its assets increased by 450 percent between 2012 and 2016, while its liabilities book grew by 444 percent during the same period. As of 2016, the bank's financing asset-book was A£1.4 billion and is expected to pass A£2 billion in 2018, the statement said.
As an independent UK bank, Al Rayan is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority and is a member of Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the statement added.
