The corporate crediting rating of Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, was upgraded by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services.
Fitch Ratings upgraded SRC’s long-term issuer default ratings to “A+” from “A” with “stable” outlook. The rating action follows the recent upgrade of Saudi Arabia’s long-term IDRs to “A+” with “stable” outlooks.
Moody’s Investor Services affirmed SRC’s “A2” long-term issuer ratings and upgraded its outlooks to “positive.” In its credit opinion, the agency noted SRC’s strong capitalization, solid asset quality metrics, and the important role it plays in increasing home ownership among Saudi national citizens.
Fabrice Susini, CEO of SRC, said: “SRC’s credit upgrades by two of the world’s most influential rating agencies reflect our strong position and the recent positive ratings actions for Saudi Arabia connected to the government’s initiatives to transform the Kingdom’s economy. We look forward to continuing raising capital locally and soon internationally on favorable terms to support our continued ability to promote the growth of the Saudi real estate sector and Saudi citizens’ access to homeownership.”
These credit ratings further support SRC’s efforts in fulfilling its ambitious goals whilst boosting local and international investor confidence alongside all its stakeholders in the standards and viability of the Saudi real estate industry. The SRC was established in 2017 with the aim of helping transform the local housing market. SRC obtained a license from the Saudi Central Bank to operate in real estate refinancing through the secondary market.
The company enables individuals and entities interested in direct or indirect real estate financing to increase and diversify origination of long-term fixed-rate products.
As one of its primary roles, SRC provides banks and real estate finance companies with liquidity or capital relief, enabling growth in the home financing sector to increase home ownership rates among Saudi citizens.
