Moody’s Warns of Risk for Gulf Banks

PARIS, 17 May 2006 — The financial health of banks operating in the Gulf area, which has been boosted by an energy and construction boom, may be less robust than their results suggest, international ratings agency Moody’s warned yesterday.

Moody’s said in a report on banks in the Gulf that many of them faced risks associated with a rapid build up of loans and were exposed to “possible asset bubbles”, namely the property, contracting and construction markets, above all in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.