... Islamic Bank's (JIB) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are driven by its intrinsic strength as indicated by its Viability Rating (VR). The bank's VR is constrained by the challenging Jordanian operating environment and sovereign- related risks. High Exposure to Sovereign Risk: JIB is highly exposed to the sovereign through the bank's sizeable exposure to government-related entities (GREs). At end-3Q18, JIB's largest exposure was to the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) against a 100% government guarantee and equal to 1.5x the bank's Fitch Core Capital (FCC). The remaining exposures within the top 20 list were equal to 0.6x JIB's FCC. Strong Domestic Franchise: JIB is the largest and oldest Islamic bank in Jordan with an 11% share of total banking sector deposits at end-2017. JIB had 56% and 55% of total Islamic banking sector assets and financing, respectively. Adequate Asset-Quality Metrics: JIB's asset-quality metrics are adequate, supported...
