Moody’s raises Gulf banks’ outlook to ‘stable’ on higher oil prices – The National

Moody’s raises Gulf banks’ outlook to ‘stable’ on higher oil prices – The National

Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook for banks in the six-country GCC bloc to stable from negative, citing an improvement in operating conditions after the Covid-19 pandemic.

As higher oil prices aid the economic recovery, banks in the GCC region will record increasing profitability and accelerating credit growth, the rating agency said in a report on Tuesday.

"We have changed banking outlooks in Gulf Co-operation Council states as the jump in oil prices is boosting economic activity and economies are recovering after the coronavirus shock," said Nitish Bhojnagarwala, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's. "Non-oil activities including tourism will also contribute to the improvement in some areas."