...Ratings Not Capped by Sovereign: Arab Bank Plc's Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are driven by its standalone strength, as indicated by its Viability Rating (VR). The bank's geographical diversification in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Europe and outside the MENA region, and about half of its holdings of liquid assets (cash, placements and high-quality investment securities) in Europe and other highly rated sovereigns could help to offset the negative impact of a sovereign default. Sovereign a Constraint on Ratings : Arab Bank's IDRs are not capped by Jordan's sovereign rating of `BB-', but they are still constrained by it, as the bank's high exposure to the Jordanian sovereign relative to its equity via holdings of government securities offsets, to a degree, the benefits of its geographical diversification. Sound Asset Quality: The bank's asset-quality metrics have been resilient, despite its operations in higher-risk Arab Spring countries. The impaired loans ratio w as maintained...
