Strong capitalization. Improving asset quality with continued focus on Sharjah's public sector. Large exposure in real estate and construction sectors, making the bank vulnerable to cyclicality risk. Moderate but growing footprint outside Sharjah. The stable outlook on Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) reflects our view that the bank's business and financial profiles will remain broadly unchanged over the next 24 months. This is thanks to the bank's strong capitalization and its sound franchise as the flagship bank of the Sharjah government. We could raise our rating in the next 12-24 months if we were to revise upward our views of economic or industry risks in the UAE and if Sharjah Islamic Bank strengthened its capitalization, with a RAC ratio sustainably exceeding
