GFH ratings affirmed by Fitch at ‘B’; Outlook stable

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

GFH Financial Group yesterday announced that Fitch Ratings has affirmed its Longand Short-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘B’ with the Outlook on the Long-Term IDR remaining Stable.

Fitch has also affirmed the senior unsecured long-term rating of the US$500 million sukuk due 2025 issued through GFH Sukuk Company Limited (“GFH SCL”) at ‘B’.

In the Group’s ratings reaffirmation, Fitch noted management’s continued focus on developing more stable feebased revenue streams and the pursuit of a strategy to reduce volatility in the business model by disposing of illiquid real estate investments and increasing recurring income from investment management and treasury activities.

The ratings report went on to highlight the Group’s adequate capitalisation with a common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 19.74% at end-2023 (for KHB the CET1 ratio was 19.04% at end-2023).

Fitch also noted that GFH’s liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio are above regulatory requirements at 233% and 148%, respectively.

Suryanarayanan Hariharan, Group Chief Financial Officer at GFH, said, “We look forward to building on this momentum to further build our portfolio of revenue-generating assets and deliver enhanced performance throughout 2024 and beyond.”