International rating agency, Standard and Poors (S&P) has said although Nigeria’s security state has grown worse, it is yet to destabilise the country.
This is as the agency said it will release the rating of some Nigerian banks later in the year.
The rating agency in March this year lowered its rating of Nigeria from BB+ to negative, before the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the militant group, Boko Haram, in April, and as other attacks by the insurgents ravaged the northern part of the country, a rating that was criticised and appealed against by the Nigerian government.
The S&P’s director in sovereign ratings, Ravi Bhatia, said the rating agency’s officials are watching security issues in both Nigeria and Kenya.
“Boko Haram was part of what we considered when we put Nigeria on a negative outlook. It has gotten slightly worse and is a growing concern, however, it is not yet at this point destabilising the Nigerian state,” Ravi stated.
S&P also said it is talking to some Kenyan banks and companies about future credit ratings.
Borrowers across the continent are looking to tap into international capital markets following successful bond sales by African countries.
A long-awaited rating for Tanzania is not likely to be assigned any time soon, however, S&P’s Konrad Reuss told a news briefing in London.
“More Nigerian bank ratings will be coming out later this year… we are working on a number of corporate organisations in the region,” Reuss said.
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