The magazine
has named the top 10 safest banks in the Middle East in an exclusive
survey to be published in the October 2011 issue. Winners were selected
through an evaluation of long-term credit ratings, from Moody’s,
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, and total assets of the 500 largest
banks worldwide.The full report evaluated the safest banks in
Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North
America, Latin America and Australasia.“More than ever, customers
around the world are viewing long-term creditworthiness as the key
feature of the banks with which they do business,” said Joseph D.
Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance. “These banks have solid capital
positions and superior risk management capabilities.”The top ten
world’s safest banks 2011 in the Middle East list includes National Bank
of Abu Dhabi at the top ladder followed by the National Bank of Kuwait,
Qatar National Bank, Samba Financial Group (Saudi Arabia), National
Commercial Bank (Saudi Arabia), tie for ranking number six between
Al-Rajhi Bank (Saudi Arabia), Riyad Bank (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi
Commercial Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Saudi British Bank (Saudi
Arabia).During ranking a tie is assigned when two banks with the same score have total assets within a $5 billion range.Global Finance also announced its 20th annual ranking of the World’s 50 safest banks.“Bank
stability is an ever-more pressing concern for the world’s corporations
and investors. It is within this context that the sovereign debt crisis
is still raging in Europe and renewed fears of contagion from southern
European countries are affecting banking and market outlooks throughout
Europe. Global political instability is also in the spotlight, from the
upheavals in the Middle East and Africa to the US debt downgrade by
Standard & Poor’s, companies are watching closely to see how these
events are affecting their counterparties,” Global Finance said in a
statement.“With more than 40 of the top 50 banks from last year once
again making the list, the Global Finance ranking shows that most of
the top echelon of banks is truly worthy of the Moniker World’s Safest
Bank. Winners were selected through an evaluation of long-term credit
ratings-from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch - and total assets
of the 500 largest banks worldwide,” it added.Global Finance’s
annual ranking of world’s 50 safest banks is a recognized and trusted
standard of creditworthiness for the entire financial world.
“Counterparty creditworthiness is a critical issue for companies and
investors worldwide,” said Global Finance publisher Joseph D.
Giarraputo. “More than ever, companies around the world are reevaluating
the long-term credit strength of their banks, and partnering with only
those banks that have proven strength and stability.”This exclusive
survey will be published in the October issue of Global Finance. The
banks ranked 1-10 will be presented awards at a special ceremony to be
held during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington
in September.
