Fitch assigns B(EXP) Rating to National Bank of Egypt’s USD Bond

Fitch Ratings assigned the National Bank of Egypt’s upcoming US dollar senior unsecured bond an expected rating of ‘B(EXP)’/’RR4’, the agency said in a statement Tuesday. Outlook is Stable.

“The final rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documents conforming to information already received,” said the ratings agency.

It added that the announced bond issue follows the first international bond issue by the Egyptian sovereign earlier this month. It is the first international bond placement by NBE since August 2010 and the first by any Egyptian bank since 2011.

Earlier this month, Fitch assigned a ‘B’ rating to a $1.5 billion ten-year, U.S. dollar bond issued by Egypt this month.

“The rating is in line with Egypt’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook,” said Fitch.

In December, the agency had upgraded its credit rating for the long-term debts from ‘B’ to B-‘.