Qatari banks brace for cash crisis

Dubai - Doha financial bodies have to pay premium to get funding from non-Gulf market

A move by four Arab states to blacklist dozens of figures with alleged links to Qatar could squeeze liquidity at Qatari banks which get a significant amount of their funding from the region.

Qatari banks have around 60 billion riyals ($16 billion) in funding in the form of customer and interbank deposits from other Gulf states, said Chiradeep Ghosh, banking analyst at SICO Bahrain.

All types of deposits at banks in Qatar totalled 753 billion riyals at the end of March, according to central bank data.

But the UAE Central Bank has ordered local banks to stop dealing with the 59 individuals and 12 entities with alleged links to Qatar and to freeze their assets, Wam reported.

It has also told them to apply enhanced due diligence for any accounts they hold with six Qatari banks, including Qatar National Bank which is the Middle East and Africa's largest bank, Wam said in its report.

The six banks - QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Barwa Bank, Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank - did not respond immediately to requests for comment. - Reuters

• Qatar Crisis