This evaluation was based on the new rating methodology that the agency adopted in comparing the credit rating of banks around the world.

The news reassured the faith in the NCB’s financial strength and is considered to be the highest credit rating for banks in the Middle East North Africa region.

The agency reported that amongst the qualifiers that enabled NCB to achieve such high rating are its leading financial base, sound management control and effective risk management strategy.

The credit evaluation was based on a set of criteria that extends from the strength of returns and financials to the diversity of income sources, to a proven ability in maintaining a robust level of liquidity.

S&P expected the NCB's strong performance to continue over the medium term.

NCB CEO Abdulkareem Abu Al-Nasr said the high global credit rating with a stable outlook from top credit rating agency confirms the strength of NCB's financial position, not only in terms of asset size but also quality, and this in turn shows the bank's leadership position at a local, regional as well as global level.

"Taking into consideration the challenges that faced the world's financial institutions in the past two years, this new classification underscores NCB's ability to sustain its strong performance, asset quality and high liquidity levels,"Abu Al-Nasr said.

He pointed out that the bank has decisively and successfully so capitalized on its strong solvency and capital base, which led it to occupy the top rank in the Middle East region for the year 2011 in terms of Tier 1 Capital; the most important criteria in measuring the financial strength of banks, used in the annual ranking of the world's top 1,000 banks by the Banker magazine.