The exposure of Jeddah-headquartered Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) to regions affected by the ongoing war in the Middle East remains limited and is also mitigated through reinsurance, according to S&P Global Ratings (S&P).
In a commentary, S&P said, “The Corporation's gross exposure to the affected Middle Eastern countries (excluding Pakistan and Turkiye) is modest at $235m, representing 2.9% of its total gross portfolio. After accounting for reinsurance, this figure declines to $45m, or 3.1% of the total net portfolio.
“In addition, the Corporation has no direct political risk insurance exposure—including coverage for war or civil disturbance—in the affected countries. It also carries no shipping or marine-related exposure, nor does it insure power or energy plants or facilities in the region.”
S&P added, “Despite the ongoing conflict, we believe ICIEC's strong capital buffers will remain resilient and sufficient to absorb potential capital market volatility. As of 31 March 2026, ICIEC had not received any claims notifications under any of its covers.”
The Corporation's capital adequacy also continues to demonstrate a substantial buffer above the 99.99% confidence level, as measured by S&P’s risk-based capital model for insurers. S&P said, “While we continue to monitor regional developments, we expect ICIEC will maintain robust capital adequacy over the next two years”.
Diversified markets
ICIEC's business plans are not concentrated in countries directly affected by the conflict. The Corporation's expansion strategy remains primarily focused on its core markets in Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Central Asia—regions that are less directly exposed to the Middle East war.
As of 31 March 2026, Africa accounted for the largest share of gross exposure at nearly 60%, followed by Europe (16%) and Asia (14%). “Given this geographic diversification, we do not expect ICIEC's business plans to be materially affected, particularly when compared with peers that have higher regional concentration. However, the scale of operations and the pace of business growth could slow in the event of a protracted conflict,” said S&P.
ICIEC does not provide coverage in sanctioned jurisdictions or environments. When risk indicators deteriorate beyond the Corporation's defined tolerance levels, an off-cover status may be imposed, temporarily suspending underwriting until conditions normalise.
Currently, five member countries and 25 non-member countries are designated off-cover, reflecting heightened sovereign, political, or legal risks that exceed the corporation's risk-tolerance thresholds. In the ongoing war, ICIEC currently does not have any active exposure to Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria.
Ratings
S&P Global Ratings affirmed ICIEC’s 'AA-' long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings. The outlook is stable, reflecting its expectation that ICIEC will continue leveraging its unique public policy mandate and very strong Preferred Creditor Treatment (PCT) to expand its core business in the investment guarantee line, while maintaining its robust capital and liquidity positions.
S&P said, “We assess ICIEC's PCT as very strong because, since its inception, ICIEC has registered no claims beyond its 180-day policy waiting period on business lines that can be subrogated to the sovereign. This implies, however, that subrogation remains untested. ICIEC has a proactive pre-claims management procedure and uses mechanisms such as the memoranda of understanding with central banks, non-objection letters from member states, and IsDB's cross-default policy.”
Core business
ICIEC's core business remains its investment guarantee line, which insures foreign direct investment against the political and sovereign risk of the host member state. These risks include war and civil disturbance, breach of contract, currency transfer restrictions, expropriation, and the non-honouring of sovereign financial obligations.
Additionally, ICIEC offers supplier credit insurance to exporters and contractors in member and nonmember countries against the risk of nonpayment due to commercial and political risks (for non-member countries, the covered goods must be imports into a member state). It also offers insurance to financial institutions against the risk of nonpayment of trade receivables and covers confirmation of letters of credit issued for imports.
Established in 1994 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ICIEC was founded to promote cross-border trade and foreign direct investment in Islamic member states in a Shariah-compliant manner.
The Waqf Fund of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group is ICIEC's largest and only non-sovereign shareholder, with 31.8% of subscribed shares. This is an IsDB special account resources fund that is fully legally separated and independent from the IsDB. ICIEC has 51 other sovereign shareholders, led by Saudi Arabia (29.9%), Egypt (6.7%), Iran (5.0%), the UAE (3.7%), and Kuwait (3.7%). Sierra Leone is the newest shareholder, having joined in 2025. Positively, no member state has withdrawn since inception, and management sees the likelihood of any member state withdrawing capital as remote.