Cairo – Mubasher: Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Commercial International Bank (CIB) at 'B' with a stable outlook, according to a press released on Tuesday.

The rating agency has also affirmed Credit Agricole Egypt's (CAE) support rating at '4' and its national long and short-term ratings at 'AA+(egy)' and 'F1+(egy)', respectively. 

The long-term IDR of National Bank of Egypt (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of NBE, has been affirmed at 'B' with a stable outlook, while its Support Rating has been affirmed at '4'.

The expected rating 'B(EXP)' to NEB proposed USD senior unsecured bond issuance has been withdrawn as this issuance is not expected to proceed.

"NBE, CIB and CAE operate almost exclusively in Egypt (B/Stable). Their ratings reflect our view that the correlation between bank risk and sovereign risk will remain strong over the rating horizon given their exposure to domestic assets, including a sizeable proportion of Egyptian government debt. NBE's and CIB's Long-Term IDRs are driven by their respective Viability Ratings (VRs), whereas CAE's ratings are driven by support from its French parent", said the rating firm.