RIYADH: The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. has received an “A-” classification at the level of global credit and “KsaAAA” at the level of local credit with a stable outlook from the credit rating agency S&P Global. According to the rating company, an obligatory rated “A-” falls under an upper-medium category, which indicates strong creditworthiness and has good capacity to meet its financial commitments. On the other hand, a rating of “AAA” on the national scale means the debtor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation relative to other national debtors is extremely strong. According to the SRC website, the real estate financing company is rated “A-” stable by Fitch Ratings and “A2-” stable by Moody’s Investors Service. In March, SRC signed an agreement with Al Rajhi Bank to refinance more than SR5 billion ($1.33 billion) worth of real estate financing portfolio. “The deal is the largest of its kind in the Saudi banking industry,” said SRC in a statement. SRC CEO Fabrice Susini described the deal as a milestone in the company’s “strategic approach to support the housing market in the Kingdom by providing flexible mortgage solutions to citizens.” In the same month, SRC announced that it will be lowering the mortgage benchmark curve by 26 basis points for mortgage tenors from 20 to 30 years. By reducing the long end of the mortgage rates in a rising global interest rate environment, SRC said it continues to “support the development of a robust mortgage market and its liquidity, continuously providing affordable and accessible financing options to Saudi citizens.” Founded in 2017 by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, SRC’s primary role is to provide banks and real estate finance companies with liquidity, enabling growth in the home financing sector to increase home ownership rates among Saudi citizens. The company issued two sukuks in 2022, the first tranche totaling SR4 billion in April and the other tranche SR3 billion in September. According to its annual report for 2022, SRC had access to eight short-term credit facilities worth SR7.65 billion as of Dec. 31, of which its total utilized limits was SR1.18 billion.