The International credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's (S&P's), is reviewing the ratings of 50 banks in the West Asia on the basis of a new set of rating criteria.In S&P's recently revised Banking Industry Country Risk Assessments (Bicras), Bahrain's banking system has been classified in Group 6—the highest risk among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the UAE in Group 5, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait in Group 4 and Saudi Arabia as the strongest in Group 2.Analysts say UAE banks could face future asset quality challenges from restructured loans. In countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, the banking sector could face negative rating action.Last month, rating agency Moody's downgraded five of Egypt's the biggest banks amid concerns over their large debts and the Government's ability to support banking system. The agency downgraded a number of large financial institutions, including Bank of America Corp, Barclays and Citi group on the basis of a new methodology. The outcome reflects weaker confidence in governments' willingness and ability to bail out banks in trouble.