Mubasher: GFH Financial Group on Tuesday said that Capital Intelligence Ratings has confirmed the bank’s long-term rating at ‘BB’ and short-term rating at ‘B’.

The ratings agency gave the Bahrain-based bank a ‘stable’ outlook, GFH said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

“The ratings are supported by GFH’s successful implementation of its recent strategy to convert to a financial group, improved satisfactory liquidity, low debt and leverage, and increased profitability at both operating and net levels in H1-17,” GFH’s statement indicated.

Furthermore, the financial group’s income-generating investments, expected acquisition of financial service assets, and “value-accretive exits” are factors which are likely to cut the group’s earnings volatility in the future, the bank added.

GFH noted that the “major constraining factors” are Bahrain’s sovereign risk, rated ‘BB+’/’B’/’Stable’ for long-term, short-term, and outlook, respectively, added to the growing challenges in the regional economic environment.

A rise in credit risk along with the lower oil prices continue to be major constraining factors.

GFH Financial Group last logged a 264% surge in net profit to $65.5 million in the first six months of 2017, from $18.0 million in the year-ago period.

In a separate statement to the DFM on Tuesday, the Bahraini bank said its board was scheduled to meet on Sunday, 12 November to discuss and approve the group’s financial results for the third quarter of 2017 and the first nine months of the year.