Fitch affirms Bahrain rating; outlook stable

Friday, 5 August 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Manama (Reuters): Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bahrain’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ and its local currency IDR at ‘BBB+’ and removed them from Rating Watch Negative (RWN).

The outlook is stable.

The agency has simultaneously affirmed Bahrain’s country ceiling at ‘BBB+’ and short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘F3’.

The resolution of the RWN and affirmation of the rating reflects Fitch’s view that the near term risks to the political and economic outlook have abated following the lifting of the state of emergency on June 1. The stable outlook reflects Fitch’s judgement that the fiscal and economic damage inflicted by the events of Q1 2011, and the worsening of Bahrain’s political climate, which is likely to prove long-lasting, are adequately reflected in its ‘BBB’ rating.