Al-Gosaibi Empire Crumbling (Re-post)

Overnight Lehman Brothers collapsed and sent shockwaves throughout the Americas and then across the world to provide further evidence that we were truly in the midst of a massive recession. In the Gulf, today, we are facing the same problems but with different names.

Banks across the Gulf will face larger provisions due to Ahmed Hamad al Gosaibi and Brothers “AHAB” and Saad Group’s default on their obligations. Saudi banks alone are reported to have between $4 and $7 billion in lending exposure to the two groups.

Recent documents have been uncovered show that a total of 88 firms have exposure of $7.42 billion in syndicated loans to troubled Saudi conglomerates Saad Group and AHAB. Almost half of the 88 firms with exposure are from the Middle East, with 12 from the United Arab Emirates.