Fitch Ratings has assigned an A+ rating to QIB Sukuk Ltd’s $750m five-year trust certificates.
QIBSL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV), incorporated in the Cayman Islands to act as the issuer of the certificates and trustee for the holders of the certificates.
Fitch says the sukuk rating is driven solely by Qatar Islamic Bank’s issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating of A+. This reflects Fitch’s view that default of these senior unsecured obligations would reflect default of the entity in accordance with Fitch’s rating definitions. The rating also takes into account the sukuk’s structure and documentation, which includes the following features, Fitch says.
Fitch says the rating of the programme will be influenced by changes in QIB’s long-term IDR. A downgrade of QIB’s IDR would result in a downgrade to QIBSL debt ratings.
QIB’s IDR, support rating and support rating floor are potentially sensitive to a change in Fitch’s assumptions around the Qatari authorities propensity or ability to provide timely support to the banking sector. Fitch considers the likelihood of any change to be small.