...VR Drives IDRs: Arab Bank Plc's (AB) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are driven by its standalone strength, as reflected by its Viability Rating (VR). The VR reflects AB's sound asset quality, solid capital ratios, strong funding franchise, well-managed liquidity and resilient performance metrics. It also considers exposure to less stable MENA markets. VR Not Capped by Sovereign: AB's VR is above Jordan's sovereign rating as Fitch Ratings believes the bank's strong capital and liquidity could weather a sovereign default. The bank's strong geographical diversification in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and outside the MENA region, strong quality assets that could be easily sold, low exposure to the sovereign in foreign currency (FC), small recourse to domestic bank funding and la rge holdings of liquid assets in and outside Jordan would help offset the negative impact of a sovereign crisis. Fitch also believes that the government would not prevent AB from servicing its debt obligations...
