Doha – Mubasher: Some banks operating in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE have withdrawn their deposits from Qatari banks and have stopped trading on bonds and in Qatari riyal, amid fears of increased pressure from Gulf states, sources told Bloomberg.
The sources added that the other banks are monitoring developments in the region, but not liquidating their shares in Qatar.
The agency reported that the economic pressure will affect Qatari banks, noting that Qatar National Bank (QNB) relies heavily on foreign financing, as only 4% of the bank’s deposits come from the four countries that have decided to cut ties, with the exception of Qatar National Bank - Egypt.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has asked commercial banks for detailed, daily reports on foreign exchange trading, withdrawals from deposits starting SAR 10 million ($2.7 million), as well as a weekly breakdown of deposits, by maturity and type, from customers from the GCC, Egypt, and other countries.
On Wednesday, the USD-QAR pair dropped to an eleven-year low of QAR 3.647 on the spot market following Monday’s diplomatic rift, in which Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar.
The cost of sovereign debt insurance in Qatar rose on Thursday after the nation's credit rating was downgraded to “AA-“ on Wednesday.
Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE, along with Yemen and Libya announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. The countries cut air, sea, and land transport links with Qatar.
