RATNGS - Standard and Poors reaffirms Albaraka Turk participation bank's credit rating

www.ameinfo.com - The rating signifies a positive view of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank and its strong financial fundamentals and position in the Turkish market. The rating reaffirmation is also a confirmation of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank's good performance that has been consistent over the years.

The Chairman of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif said "The reaffirmation of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank's ratings by S&P is a considerable accomplishment and points to its strength as an institution that has shown significant flexibility in these times of financial and political uncertainty across the world.

"Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank's Board Member & General Manager Fahrettin Yahşi stated "The rating reaffirmation indicates the success of Al Baraka Turk in pursuing growth and development in all of its business lines despite the challenging market conditions both domestic and international."  (source)

RATINGS - Moody's upgrades Turkey's ratings

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - The international rating agency Moody's upgraded Turkey's credit rating Wednesday, maintaining the positive outlook as stable, daily Hürriyet reported.

Turkey's previous Ba2 credit was increased to Ba1, which still defines Turkey as "judged to be speculative and subject to credit risk."   (source)

RATNGS - S&P cuts Turkey rating outlook to stable from positive

www.todayszaman.com  - Standard & Poor's cut the outlook on Turkey's 'BB' sovereign credit rating to stable from positive on Tuesday, saying risks to its creditworthiness had risen as a result of its high debt and worsening terms of trade as demand for its exports weakens.

Data on Tuesday showed Turkey's exports fell 2.9 percent year-on-year in April to $11.41 billion but were 5.9 percent higher, at $45.66 billion, in the first four months of the year.
"Less-buoyant external demand and worsening terms of trade have, in our view, made economic rebalancing more difficult, and have increased the risks to Turkey's creditworthiness given its high external debt and the state budget's reliance on indirect tax revenues," S&P said in a statement.  (source)

BANKING - Albaraka Turk set to rekindle Turkish corporate sukuk issuance

Another sign of how the dynamics of the global financial crisis, especially the on-going euro zone debt crisis and the credit crunch, are affecting more stable economies in the emerging countries and where relevant including their Islamic finance and especially sukuk market, is the postponement of the proposed sukuk offerings of two of Turkey's participation banks, Al Baraka Turk Katilim Bankasi (Albaraka Turk Participation Bank (ATPB) and Bank Asya.

Both were supposed to close their sukuk offerings by the end of 2012. The general reason for the postponement was adverse market conditions, but in reality they differed for each institution.  (source)

RATINGS - Albaraka Turk's proposed Sukuk Certificates assigned 'BB' Issue Rating

cpifinancial.net  - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has assigned a 'BB' issue rating on proposed Sukuk certificates to be issued by Bereket Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi (the issuer), a special purpose company (SPC)

Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi (Albaraka Turk; BB/Negative/B; Turkey national scale trAA-/--/trA-1) is the obligor and managing agent. The 'BB' rating on the proposed Sukuk certificates is based on the 'BB' long-term counterparty credit rating on Albaraka Turk and the draft documentation of the planned issuance dated 20 November 2011 received from the bank. (source)

BANKING - Stronger international ties could help Turkey's nascent Islamic banks sustain recent growth

BI-ME.COM - INTERNATIONAL. Turkey's Islamic banks could continue their recent strong growth if they can cultivate stronger ties with their international owners and create a sustainable brand image, in Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' view.

The country's Islamic banking sector has grown strongly over the past five years, with total sector assets accounting for about 5% of total system assets as of year-end 2010 compared with 2.8% five years earlier. (source)

BANKING - ABG shows resilience to regional political turmoil - ambitious growth for Albaraka Turk

MANAMA: Bahrain-based international Islamic banking major, Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG), has been resilient to the political turmoil from early this year in the countries in which it operates, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.

"We believe that political and economic tensions are easing in countries where Al-Baraka Banking Group operates, and that the group has shown resilience in the impaired operating environment caused by the tensions," an S&P statement said.(source)

RATINGS - S&P Revises Albaraka Turk Outlook To Negative

The following is a press release from Standard & Poor's:

-- Turkish bank Albaraka Turk continued to rapidly grow its loan book for the third consecutive year.
-- New loans to the risky construction sector are the main source of growth and have caused the bank's already weak capitalization to deteriorate, in our opinion.
-- We are revising our outlook to negative from stable and affirming the 'BB/B' long- and short-term ratings on Albaraka Turk.
-- The negative outlook reflects the possibility that we could downgrade the bank during the coming year, because of our negative view of its lending strategy and the subsequent pressure on its capital and future asset quality. (source)

RATNGS - S&P Requests Comments From Constituents Of The Islamic Financial Sector On Proposed Changes To Criteria For Rating Banks (deadline March 7, 2011)

PARIS, January 25, 2011--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is requesting comments on its proposal to revise its criteria for rating banks and, among them, Islamic banks.

On Jan. 6, 2011, we published a request for comment on proposed changes to our criteria for rating banks and institutional brokers. The proposed criteria aims to provide additional insight into the way we rate banks, including Islamic banks, as well as enhance ratings comparability across sectors and geography. Our objective is to create an integrated, globally consistent framework that builds on what we know and have learned about the industry since the credit crunch began in 2007. (source)