S&P's Ratings Services said it has raised long-term counterparty credit rating on Samba Financial Group (Samba) to 'A+' from 'A'. The outlook is stable.

The agency also affirmed its 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating on Samba.

"The rating action reflects our view that Samba's financial profile has continued to strengthen, on support from a resilient financial performance, solid capitalization, and strong funding and liquidity indicators," said S&P's credit analyst Nicolas Hardy.

“We also consider that Samba benefits from a superior market position in Saudi Arabia and a supportive business mix between retail and corporate banking,” said an S&P statement.

Meanwhile, S&P raised its long-term counterparty credit rating on Al-Rajhi Bank to 'A+' from 'A' and affirmed its 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating. The outlook is stable.

"The rating action reflects our view that ARB's stand-alone credit profile has strengthened in the recent past, thanks to its unique market position in the Saudi retail market, increasingly diversified loan book, strong and resilient profitability, and growth strategy with solid capital ratios," Hardy said.

In a separate statement on Monday, S&P said it has revised its outlook on the Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) from negative to stable. It also affirmed 'A-/A-2' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on the bank.

"The outlook revision reflects the resilience of SAIB's financial profile, which was better than we expected," said S&P's credit analyst Paul-Henri Pruvost.

“We expect the bank's financial profile to continue to be resilient over the medium term,” a statement from the rating agency said.

SAIB, with total assets of SR49.5 billion on March 31, 2010, is a small bank compared with its peers in Saudi Arabia.