Saudi central bank tells lenders not to trade with Qatar banks in Qatari riyals

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has advised lenders in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The guidance from the central bank came on Monday evening, after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The Saudi central bank did not respond to a request for comment.

Some UAE commercial banks are also holding off on doing business with Qatari banks, such as letters of credit, because of the diplomatic rift in the region, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

They said the banks, which declined to be named, were delaying deals until they received guidance from their central banks on how to handle business with Qatar.

They also said the UAE central bank had asked banks in the country to detail their exposure to Qatari banks, and that the Bahrain central bank had taken a similar step, setting a Thursday deadline to obtain the information.

The UAE central bank did not respond to a request for comment and Bahraini central bank officials could not immediately be contacted for comment.