FS30%
Financial Strength
Leverage, liquidity, interest cover and earnings quality drawn from audited statements and management accounts.
Credit & Risk
Discipline under exposure
How MENA United underwrites counterparties, prices credit and monitors exposure across a live physical trading book.
Overview
Credit decisions held to an institutional standard.
MENA United operates in physical commodities — crude, refined products, helium and industrial gases — where settlement risk, country risk and concentration matter as much as headline financial strength. Our credit framework is designed for that reality.
Every counterparty we trade with is assessed under a single composite model that combines five weighted sub-scores. The output is an internal score from 0 to 100, an internal band from A to D, and a probability-of-default proxy. Limits, tenor and security requirements follow from the band — not from the urgency of the trade.
The disclosures on this page summarise our framework. They do not constitute, and should not be relied upon as, an external credit rating.
Methodology · v1.0
Five sub-scores. One composite. A band that drives the decision.
Download full methodology paper (PDF, v1.0)PB20%
Payment Behaviour
Days-past-due distribution, dispute frequency and trade-reference history across the past 24 months.
CR20%
Country Risk
Sovereign rating, transfer-and-convertibility risk and political-risk overlay sourced from public macro indices.
EC15%
Exposure & Concentration
Single-name and sector concentration against approved limits, tenor profile and collateralisation.
ES15%
ESG / Sector Risk
Sanctions, AML, sector cycle position and ESG signals — used as a qualitative overlay, not a hard cut.
Composite
Weighted sum, capped at 100
Score = 0.30·FS + 0.20·PB + 0.20·CR + 0.15·EC + 0.15·ES. Each input is normalised to a 0 – 100 scale before weighting. Weights are version-controlled and any change requires Risk Committee sign-off.
Internal bands
| Band | Score | PD proxy | Default treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 80 – 100 | Low | Open terms within mandate; standard documentation. |
| B | 65 – 79 | Low – Medium | Open terms with monitoring; periodic review every 6 months. |
| C | 50 – 64 | Medium | Secured terms preferred — letter of credit, standby credit or pre-payment; quarterly review. |
| D | < 50 | High | Cash-against-documents or pre-payment only; committee approval required. |
How we evaluate
Eight steps from first contact to live limit.
The same workflow runs end-to-end for every counterparty, regardless of size or urgency. It is documented, time-stamped and reviewable.
- 01
Onboarding & KYC/KYB
Beneficial ownership, sanctions, PEP and adverse-media screening; corporate documentation and signatory verification.
- 02
Financial review
Two prior years of audited accounts, management accounts and auditor opinion; ratio analysis and peer benchmarking.
- 03
Trade & bank references
Three independent references covering the prior 24 months — payment behaviour, dispute history, settlement reliability.
- 04
Country & sector overlay
Sovereign rating, transfer-and-convertibility risk and sector-cycle position applied as adjustments to the base score.
- 05
Composite scoring
Five sub-scores combined into a 0 – 100 composite mapped to bands A through D, with PD proxy and limit recommendation.
- 06
Committee approval
Limits, tenor and security are sized against band and exposure mandate; exceptions are documented and minuted.
- 07
Monitoring & re-score
Cadence-based re-score and event-driven re-score on sanctions updates, rating actions, missed payments or change of control.
- 08
Audit & review
Inputs, overrides and approvals retained in an immutable audit log; sample files reviewed by an independent reviewer.
Counterparty universe · public ratings
S&P, Moody's and Fitch references for the names we work with.
The table below references publicly available long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, alongside our internal band. It is published as a frame of reference only; ratings change over time and are reproduced here for orientation rather than reliance.
| Counterparty | Type | Country | S&P | Moody's | Fitch | Outlook | Internal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Aramco | NOC | Saudi Arabia | A+ | Aa3 | A+ | Stable | A |
| QatarEnergy | NOC | Qatar | AA | Aa2 | AA | Stable | A |
| ADNOC Group | NOC | United Arab Emirates | AA | Aa2 | AA | Stable | A |
| Kuwait Petroleum | NOC | Kuwait | A+ | A1 | AA- | Stable | A |
| Equinor ASA | IOC | Norway | AA- | Aa2 | AA- | Stable | A |
| Shell plc | IOC | United Kingdom | A+ | Aa3 | AA- | Stable | A |
| TotalEnergies | IOC | France | A+ | A1 | AA- | Stable | A |
| Chevron Corp. | IOC | United States | AA- | Aa2 | AA | Stable | A |
| ExxonMobil | IOC | United States | AA- | Aa2 | AA- | Stable | A |
| BP plc | IOC | United Kingdom | A- | A1 | A | Stable | B |
| Eni S.p.A. | IOC | Italy | A- | A3 | A- | Stable | B |
| Repsol S.A. | Refiner | Spain | BBB | Baa2 | BBB | Stable | B |
| Reliance Industries | Refiner | India | BBB+ | Baa2 | BBB+ | Stable | B |
| Indian Oil Corp. | Refiner | India | BBB- | Baa3 | BBB- | Stable | B |
| PetroChina | NOC | China | A+ | A1 | A+ | Stable | B |
| Sinopec | Refiner | China | A+ | A1 | A+ | Stable | B |
| Vitol Group | Trader | Switzerland | n/r | n/r | n/r | Stable | B |
| Trafigura | Trader | Singapore | n/r | n/r | n/r | Stable | B |
| Glencore plc | Trader | Switzerland | BBB+ | Baa1 | BBB+ | Stable | B |
| Gunvor Group | Trader | Cyprus | n/r | n/r | n/r | Stable | B |
| Mercuria Energy | Trader | Switzerland | n/r | n/r | n/r | Stable | B |
| First Abu Dhabi Bank | Bank | United Arab Emirates | AA- | Aa3 | AA- | Stable | A |
| Emirates NBD | Bank | United Arab Emirates | A+ | A2 | A+ | Stable | A |
| HSBC Holdings | Bank | United Kingdom | A+ | A3 | AA- | Stable | A |
| Standard Chartered | Bank | United Kingdom | A+ | A3 | A+ | Stable | A |
| Maersk Line | Logistics | Denmark | BBB+ | Baa2 | BBB+ | Stable | B |
Source: public issuer credit ratings as published by S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. "n/r" — not rated. Reproduced for reference only.
Country risk overlay
Sovereign ratings & OECD country-risk classification.
Country risk is applied as a 20% sub-score in our composite model. We combine sovereign issuer ratings with the OECD Arrangement country-risk classification (0 – 7, lower is safer) to size transfer-and-convertibility risk.
| Country | Region | S&P | Moody's | Fitch | Outlook | OECD CRC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | GCC | AA | Aa2 | AA- | Stable | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | GCC | A+ | Aa3 | A+ | Positive | 2 |
| Qatar | GCC | AA | Aa2 | AA | Stable | 0 |
| Kuwait | GCC | A+ | A1 | AA- | Stable | 2 |
| Oman | GCC | BBB- | Ba1 | BB+ | Positive | 4 |
| Bahrain | GCC | B+ | B2 | B+ | Stable | 5 |
| Egypt | MENA ex-GCC | B- | Caa1 | B | Stable | 6 |
| Morocco | MENA ex-GCC | BB+ | Ba1 | BB+ | Stable | 3 |
| Jordan | MENA ex-GCC | BB- | Ba3 | BB- | Stable | 5 |
| Algeria | MENA ex-GCC | n/r | n/r | n/r | Stable | 6 |
| Türkiye | MENA ex-GCC | BB- | Ba3 | BB- | Stable | 5 |
| Singapore | Asia | AAA | Aaa | AAA | Stable | 0 |
| China | Asia | A+ | A1 | A+ | Negative | 2 |
| India | Asia | BBB- | Baa3 | BBB- | Positive | 3 |
| South Korea | Asia | AA | Aa2 | AA- | Stable | 0 |
| Japan | Asia | A+ | A1 | A | Stable | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Europe | AA | Aa3 | AA- | Stable | 0 |
| Germany | Europe | AAA | Aaa | AAA | Stable | 0 |
| France | Europe | AA- | Aa3 | AA- | Negative | 0 |
| Switzerland | Europe | AAA | Aaa | AAA | Stable | 0 |
| Norway | Europe | AAA | Aaa | AAA | Stable | 0 |
| United States | Americas | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ | Stable | 0 |
| Brazil | Americas | BB | Ba1 | BB | Stable | 4 |
| Nigeria | Africa | B- | Caa1 | B- | Stable | 6 |
| South Africa | Africa | BB- | Ba2 | BB- | Stable | 4 |
Source: public sovereign credit ratings (S&P, Moody's, Fitch) and the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits country-risk classification. "n/r" — not rated.
Commodity & sector risk
Where each product sits in the cycle — and what that means for credit.
Credit decisions in physical commodities cannot be separated from the underlying market structure. The table below summarises our internal view of cycle, liquidity and settlement risk across the products we trade — and the sector band we currently apply to each.
| Product | Segment | Cycle | Liquidity | Settlement risk | Sector band | Credit note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude — Arab Light | Crude | Balanced | Deep | Low | A | OSP-priced; benchmark sour grade for Asian refiners. |
| Crude — Murban | Crude | Balanced | Deep | Low | A | ICE Murban futures provide transparent forward curve. |
| Crude — Brent | Crude | Balanced | Deep | Low | A | Global benchmark; deepest paper liquidity. |
| Gasoil 10ppm (ICE) | Refined | Tight | Deep | Low | A | Distillate cracks elevated; structure in backwardation. |
| Jet A-1 (CIF NWE) | Refined | Tight | Adequate | Low | A | Aviation demand recovery; storage premia returning. |
| Naphtha (CFR Japan) | Refined | Balanced | Adequate | Medium | B | Petchem feedstock; cracker margins are the swing factor. |
| Fuel Oil 0.5% / 3.5% | Refined | Long | Adequate | Medium | B | Bunker spread tracks IMO 2020 compliance fleet. |
| LNG (JKM / TTF) | Gases | Tight | Adequate | Low | A | Term-contract dominated; spot remains volatile. |
| Helium (Grade-A 5.0 / 6.0) | Gases | Tight | Thin | Low | A | Co-product of LNG / nat-gas; non-substitutable end-uses. |
| Liquid Nitrogen (LIN) | Gases | Balanced | Adequate | Low | B | Locally produced; cold-chain logistics is the gating factor. |
| Liquid Argon (LAR) | Gases | Tight | Thin | Low | B | By-product of ASUs; allocation-driven during outages. |
| Sulphur (FOB Hazira) | Specialty | Long | Adequate | Medium | B | Refinery / sour-gas by-product; price tracks phosphate cycle. |
| Bitumen 60/70 (FOB Jebel Ali) | Specialty | Balanced | Thin | Medium | C | UAE-origin cargoes; payment terms drive risk. |
Risk Framework
Six principles that shape every assessment.
01
Independence
Credit decisions are made by analysts who do not carry P&L responsibility for the underlying trade.
02
Transparency
Every score is reproducible from its inputs. Methodology, weights and version are recorded with each assessment.
03
Proportionality
Depth of due diligence scales with exposure, tenor and jurisdictional risk — not with deal urgency.
04
Segregation
KYC, sanctions screening, credit and settlement are handled by separate functions with documented hand-offs.
05
Auditability
All inputs, overrides and approvals are written to an immutable audit log retained for the regulatory minimum.
06
Continuous review
Counterparties are re-scored on a fixed cadence and on any material event — earnings, sanctions, rating action or default signal.
Data Sources
Lawful, attributable, refreshed.
We work with sources we are entitled to use, that we can attribute, and that we can refresh on a defined cadence. We do not redistribute proprietary rating-agency data and we do not scrape sources whose terms forbid it.
Audited financial statements
Filed accounts, management accounts and auditor opinions provided directly by the counterparty under NDA.
Trade references
Bank, producer and logistics references covering the prior 24 months of dealings.
Sovereign & macro data
Public macroeconomic indicators and sovereign ratings from recognised public sources, used at country level only.
Sanctions & PEP screening
OFAC, EU, UK HMT, UN and national consolidated lists, refreshed daily and on every onboarding.
Open corporate registries
Company registries, beneficial-ownership filings and litigation records where lawfully accessible.
Internal exposure ledger
Live exposure, tenor and settlement-performance data from our own trade and treasury systems.
Governance & Compliance
Built so it can be examined.
Methodology paper
A versioned written methodology describes inputs, weights, score construction and override rules. Material changes require Risk Committee approval.
Model governance
Each model version is assigned an identifier (v1, v1.1, …). Backtests, override rates and drift are reviewed at least annually.
Data lineage
Every score carries a reference to the source records, transformations applied and the analyst of record.
Risk Committee
A standing committee reviews limits, exceptions and watch-list cases. Minutes and decisions are retained.
KYC / KYB & AML
Onboarding follows a documented KYC/KYB programme with risk-based EDD, ongoing monitoring and STR procedures.
Independent review
Methodology and a sample of files are reviewed by an independent reviewer outside the credit function on a defined cadence.
FAQ
What counterparties most often ask.
Is this an external credit rating?+
No. Our internal risk scores are proprietary assessments used to inform our own trade decisions and counterparty limits. They are not credit ratings within the meaning of the EU CRA Regulation, the UK CRA Regulations, the US Credit Rating Agency Reform Act or any equivalent regime, and they should not be used as a substitute for a rating issued by S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, Fitch Ratings or any other registered credit rating agency.
Why publish the methodology if the scores are internal?+
Because counterparties, banks and trade-finance partners are entitled to understand how they are assessed. Publishing the framework — without proprietary thresholds — is consistent with how institutional credit functions operate and is a foundation for any future rating-agency engagement.
How often are counterparties re-scored?+
On a fixed cadence determined by band — A annually, B semi-annually, C quarterly, D monthly — and on any material event such as a sanctions update, rating action, missed payment, restructuring or change of control.
What data do you require from a counterparty?+
At minimum: corporate identifiers and beneficial-ownership disclosure, two prior years of audited accounts, three trade references, KYC documentation for signatories, and confirmation of sanctions and AML status. Additional documentation is requested in proportion to the requested limit.
How is data protected?+
Counterparty data is processed under written confidentiality terms, encrypted in transit and at rest, segregated by counterparty, and accessed only by named personnel under role-based access controls. Retention follows the applicable legal minimum.
Engage
Request a counterparty review or onboarding pack.
Our credit team responds to qualified requests from buyers, sellers and trade-finance partners within two business days. Onboarding packs include the methodology summary, KYC/KYB checklist and standard documentation requirements.
Counterparty Risk Portal
Secured access — by invitation
Approved counterparties, banks and trade-finance partners can request access to the permissioned portal: live counterparty profiles, score components, watch-list and document exchange.
Request portal access →Disclaimer. Internal risk scores and bands described on this page are proprietary assessments produced by MENA United Trading F.Z.C for its own credit decisioning. Public credit ratings shown for counterparties and sovereigns are reproduced from the public disclosures of S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings for orientation only and may have changed since publication. Nothing on this page is investment, legal or tax advice.