Mubasher: Fitch Ratings affirmed on Monday Qatar National Bank's (QNB) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA-' with a Stable Outlook.

At the same time the agency has placed QNB's Viability Rating (VR) of 'a' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN) following QNB's proposed acquisition of Finansbank.
The RWN primarily reflects Fitch's view that this acquisition will increase QNB's overall risk profile.

QNB's IDRs, Support Rating (SR) and Support Rating Floor (SRF) reflect Fitch's expectation of support from the Qatari authorities for domestic banks in case of need.

“The government has demonstrated strong commitment to its banks and key public-sector companies and we expect this to continue despite the effects of lower oil prices,” said Fitch.

QNB earlier posted net profit of QAR 11.3 billion in 2015, a rise of 7.7% year-on-year compared to QAR 10.4 billion in 2014.