Wealthy economy. Banks' strong internal capital generation. Funding profile backed by public sector deposits. Significant reliance on external debt. High exposure to real estate and construction sectors. Heightened credit risks due to recent sanctions. S&P Global Ratings classifies the banking sector of Qatar (AA-/Negative/A-1+) in group '5' under its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA). Other countries in group '5' include the United Arab Emirates, India, Italy, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Poland, and Panama (see chart 1). We use our BICRA economic and industry risk scores to determine a bank's anchor, the starting point in assigning an issuer credit rating. The anchor for banks operating only in Qatar is 'bbb-'. Qatar has a wealthy--albeit undiversified--economy, with high GDP per
