ECB probes Qatar stakes in Deutsche Bank

CAIRO – 18 November 2017: Europe's top banking regulator, the European Central Bank (ECB), is to open investigation into the special assessment of Deutsche Bank's two largest shareholders, Qatar and China, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

The investigation would first consider whether Qatar and HNA exert significant influence on the bank despite owning a stake of less than 10 percent, and whether they were fit to do so, according to Financial Times.

The board was investigating whether the largest investors in the largest German bank were "working together", which violates the securities laws; a source told Reuters in state of anonymity.

Financial Times reported that the investigation involves ensuring investors have no links to terrorist financing, have a solid reputation, and offer sound medium- and long-term plans for their investment.

If it is decided that there is a possibility of the two shareholders having a significant influence, they will start a more formal investigation into the two investors.

On June 5, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar over its ties with Iran as well as allegations that it supports terrorism. Ports and airspaces were cut off to Qatari vessels.

Since then, Kuwait has played the role of mediator to put an end to this rift. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held several meetings with the disputed parties, but the discussions have not yet led to a settlement.

The Arab countries listed 13 demands to be met by Qatar, including severing ties with terrorist groups, closing down the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite channel, downgrading ties with arch-rival Iran and the closure of the Turkish air base, the demands that Doha rejected, prolonging the crisis.