Moody's affirms ratings of SABB, Alawwal

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday affirmed the local and foreign currency deposit ratings of Saudi British Bank at A1/P-1 and those of Alawwal Bank at A3/P2, a statement said.

The outlook on Alawwal's long-term deposit ratings was changed to positive, from stable, while the outlook on SABB's long-term deposit ratings was maintained at stable, Moody’s added.

“Today's rating action follows the official public announcement, on Oct. 4, 2018 that the banks have entered into a binding merger agreement,” the statement added.

The merger remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and is expected to complete in the first half of 2019. Upon completion, SABB will remain as the operating entity and all of the assets and liabilities of Alawwal will be transferred to SABB in exchange for new SABB shares issued to Alawwal's shareholders.