UAE ‘bans banks with Qatari shareholders’

CAIRO – 10 August 2017: The United Arab Emirates has reportedly started informally boycotting banks with shareholders from Qatar, banking officials told Financial Times Thursday.

Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Barclays were reported to have low chances to win new deals in Abu Dhabi, because large stakeholders of the banks are owned by Qatari sovereign wealth fund and members of the ruling family.

“We have been told there is an informal boycott, there is nothing we can do,” said one banker to FT. “There is no public blacklisting, but behind-the-scenes skullduggery,” the source said.

The informal boycott appeared when Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was awarding banking handlers of the initial public offering of its retail arm.

The aforementioned banks were given limited time to pitch or were not invited, according to FT report.

Qatar holds six percent of the stakes of UK’s Barclays, five percent of the stakes of Credit Suisse, through the Qatar Investment Authority and six percent of the stakes of Deutsche Bank.

In late July, the United Arab Emirates asked all banks and financial institutions to stop dealing with 18 more individuals and entities with alleged links to Qatar, Emirati state news agency reported.