Mubasher: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) on Sunday revealed that Moody’s Investors Service had affirmed its deposit rating at “A1” with a “Stable” outlook.

The rating reflects the bank's adequate capital buffers, good profitability, and limited market funding reliance, supported by its established and growing retail and corporate Islamic banking franchise and the bank's rapid growth in recent years, QIB said in a statement to the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).

The outlook also confirms the banking sector's resilience after it was able to adapt to the current situation and overcome challenges with support from the Qatari government.

On 16 July, Moody’s confirmed the long-term deposit and issuer ratings of 10 Qatari banks, in addition to the senior unsecured and subordinated debt ratings of their affiliated entities.

The 10 banks included Qatar National Bank (QNB), Doha Bank, Barwa Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK), and the Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ).

The change in rating is supported by the Qatari banks and the country's operating environment to the ongoing regional dispute with several GCC neighbors and Egypt.

It is worth noting that QIB’s profits jumped 14.7% year-on-year to QAR 704.75 million during the second quarter of 2018.

As for the first half of the year, net profits went up to QAR 1.32 billion, versus QAR 1.16 billion for the corresponding period of 2017.

By the end of Thursday’s session, QIB’s stock retreated 0.81% to QAR 122.92.