Qatar raises support for banks as standoff with Saudi-led alliance drags on
The Saudi-led boycott is weighing on the Qatari economy, with economists expecting GDP to grow at the slowest pace since 1995
Doha — Qatari authorities stepped up their support of domestic banks for a third month in an attempt to offset foreign withdrawals, as the showdown between the Gulf emirate and a Saudi-led alliance shows no sign of abating. Public-sector deposits grew 10.5% in August to 295-billion riyals ($80bn), central bank data show, bringing the increase to about 53-billion riyals since the crisis began more than three months ago. That helped total domestic deposits grow 5% to 645-billion riyals, even as nonresident deposits declined for a third month to 149-billion riyals. They stood at 171-billion riyals in June. The Saudi-led boycott is weighing on the Qatari economy, with economists expecting gross domestic product to grow at the slowest pace since 1995. The Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, pumped almost $40bn of its $340bn to support the economy and financial system in the first two months of the standoff, Moody’s Investors Service said on September 13. The ...
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