On Feb. 17, 2016, we lowered our sovereign ratings on Saudi Arabia to 'A-/A-2' from 'A+/A-1' due to a pronounced negative swing in Saudi Arabia's fiscal balance. Consequently, we no longer incorporate uplift related to potential extraordinary government support into our ratings on The National Commercial Bank (NCB), which is based in Saudi Arabia. We are therefore lowering our ratings on NCB to 'A-/A-2' from 'A/A-1' and placing the long-term rating on CreditWatch negative. The CreditWatch placement reflects our view that economic risk in Saudi Arabia may increase and heighten pressure on NCB's capitalization. On Feb. 22, 2016, Standard&Poor's Rating Services lowered its long- and short-term counterpary credit ratings on The National Commercial Bank (NCB) to 'A-/A-2' from
