UAE, Saudi banks hold off on Qatar deals

The banks were delaying deals until they received guidance from their central banks

By Reuters

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Published: Tue 6 Jun 2017, 11:15 AM

Last updated: Wed 7 Jun 2017, 5:00 PM

Some Saudi Arabian and the United Arab Emirates commercial banks are holding off on doing business with Qatari banks, such as letters of credit, because of the diplomatic rift in the region, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
They said the banks, which declined to be named, were delaying deals until they received guidance from their central banks on how to handle business with Qatar.
They also said the UAE central bank had asked banks in the country to detail their exposure to Qatari banks, and that the Bahrain central bank had taken a similar step, setting a Thursday deadline to obtain the information.
The UAE central bank did not respond to a request for comment and Bahraini central bank officials could not immediately be contacted for comment.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed air, sea and land transport links with Doha on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism.
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