The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), a leading bank in the UAE, has been ranked for the fourth consecutive year one of the “World’s 50 Safest Banks”  and the safest  bank in the Middle East by Global Finance magazine.

Michael Tomalin, the Group chief executive of NBAD, said: “This recognition reflects NBAD’s solid strategy and the prudent risk management it has adopted during the market instability. It also confirms NBAD’s robust management and its strong financial position over the years.”

The world’s 50 safest banks were selected through a comparison of the long-term credit ratings and total assets of the 500 largest banks around the world. Ratings from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch were used.

NBAD is rated senior long term/short term A+/A-1 by Standard and Poor’s, Aa3/P1 by Moody's and AA/F1+ by Fitch. Recently, Standard & Poor’s has raised its assessment of NBAD’s capital and earnings to “very strong”, and the bank’s stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to ‘a’ from ‘a-‘ giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any Middle Eastern financial institution.

Global Finance’s annual ranking of World’s 50 Safest Banks is a recognised and trusted standard of creditworthiness for the entire financial world, said Global Finance publisher Joseph D Giarraputo.

“Counterparty creditworthiness is a critical issue for companies and investors worldwide,” he added.

“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.”

“Despite the financial challenges in the global financial market, NBAD expanded with new businesses, branches, and entered new markets,” he noted. – TradeArabia News Service