Definition of default and credit-impaired assets

Definition of default and credit-impaired assets

The Group defines a financial instrument as in default, which fully aligned with the definition of credit-impaired, when it meets one or more of the following criteria:

In addition to 90 DPD, for the retail and corporate portfolio, the default definition used is consistent with the Basel Framework. According to the Basel II definition, default is considered to have occurred with regard to obligors when either one or the following events have taken place:

• The Group considers that the obligor is unlikely to pay its credit obligation to the Group in full without recourse by the Group to actions like realizing security (if held).
• The Group puts credit obligation on non-accrued status.
• The Group makes a charge-off or account-specific provision resulting from a perceived decline in credit quality subsequent to the Group taking on the exposure.
• The Group sells the credit obligation at a material credit-related economic loss.
• The Group consents to a distressed restructuring of the credit obligation where this is likely to result in a diminished financial obligation caused by the material forgiveness or postponement of principal, interest and other fees.
• The Group has filed for the obligor’s bankruptcy or similar order in respect of the obligor’s credit obligation to the Group. The obligor has sought or has been placed in bankruptcy or similar protection wherein this would avoid or delay repayment of the credit obligation to the Group.
• The obligor is past due more than 90 days on any material credit obligation to the Group. Overdrafts will be considered as being past due once the customer has breached an advised limit or been advised of a limit smaller than the current outstanding.

The criteria above have been applied to all financial instruments held by the Group and are consistent with the definition of default used for internal credit risk management purposes. The default definition has been applied consistently to model the Probability of Default (PD), Exposure at Default (EAD), and Loss Given Default (LGD) throughout the Group’s expected loss calculations.

Credit rating and measurement

An instrument is considered to no longer be in default (i.e. to have cured) when it no longer meets any of the default criteria for a consecutive period of twelve months. This period of twelve months has been determined based on an analysis, which considers the likelihood of a financial instrument returning to default status after cure using different cure definitions.

The risk rating system is the basis for determining the credit risk of the Group’s asset portfolio (except the consumer assets) and thus asset pricing, portfolio management, determining finance loss provisions and reserves and the basis for credit approval authority delegation. A standard numeric credit risk-grading system is being used by the Group which is based on the Group’s internal estimate of probability of default, with customers or portfolios assessed against a range of quantitative and qualitative factors, including taking into account the counterparty’s financial position, past experience and other factors.

The Risk Rating system for performing assets ranges from 1 to 19, each grade being associated with a Probability of Default (“PD”). Non-performing clients are rated 20, 21, 22, corresponding to the Substandard, Doubtful and Loss classifications as per Clarifications and Guidelines Manual for Circular No. 28/2012 issued by the Central Bank of the UAE. The Group’s internal credit grades have also been mapped to external agency ratings for better comparison. The below table maps risk ratings to the grading used: