Bahrain will likely need further financial support from its Gulf neighbors despite reform measures, Fitch Ratings' lead Bahrain analyst Toby Iles said on Monday.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company's (Mumtalakat) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at 'B+'. The Outlook is Stable.

Bahrain will likely need further financial support from its Gulf neighbours despite reform measures, Fitch Ratings' lead Bahrain analyst Toby Iles said on Monday.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded National Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait B.S.C.'s (BBK) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B+' from 'BB-'. The Outlook is Stable.

Fitch cut Bahrain's sovereign rating one step to B+, leaving it four levels below investment grade and on par with Egypt, Bolivia and Jamaica. The outlook is stable.

Fitch Ratings said that that the Bahraini government transferred financial aids to the Gulf Air amounting to BHD20 million in 2019 (about 45% of GA's operating losses in 2019), following BHD30 million received in 2017 and BHD30 million received in 2018 to support GA's repayment of liabilities, working capital and capex.

In its latest report on the effects of the Coronavirus epidemic on the economies of the Gulf States, the World Credit Rating Agency Fitch said that Bahrain will need the oil price barrel to be $94 to reach the point of fiscal balance.

Fitch estimated that there would be $3 billion to $5 billion outstanding external debt in the period from 2019 to 2022, noting that 8.7 thousand employees had applied for Voluntary Retirement Scheme out of about 48,000 employees, which would save an amount of 166 million dinars in 2019 (11% of the wage bill for 2018).

Bahrain's latest downgrade by Fitch Ratings which cut country's rating from BBB- to BB+, takes Bahrain into junk status.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Bahrain's debt by one notch to junk status on Tuesday, leaving all three of the world's big rating agencies assessing the kingdom below investment grade as low oil prices undermine its finances.

Bahrain Mirror (Reuters): Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has downgraded Gulf International Bank B.S.C.'s (GIB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (LT IDR) to 'A-' from 'A'.

Bahrain Mirror: Fitch Ratings has changed the Outlook of Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) to Negative from Stable while affirming its Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-