The ratings on The National Commercial Bank (NCB) reflect its majority ownership by the Saudi Arabian government, leading commercial position, strong financial profile, and solid capitalization. These positive factors are partly offset by increasing domestic competition, the bank's strategy to expand into risky countries, and limited revenue diversification compared with international peers. The long-term rating on NCB is two notches above its stand-alone credit quality to reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' expectation that support from the government of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (AA-/Stable/A-1+) is highly likely given the bank's ownership structure and importance to the country's economy. NCB enjoys a leading position in the Saudi banking system, with a market share of about 20% in assets, but competition
