Saudi exposure may be $7bn

Saudi banks could have lent as much as US$7 billion (Dh25.71bn) to the Saad and Al Gosaibi conglomerates, raising fears that their exposure to the family groups is even larger than previously thought.

According to HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, bankers in the kingdom may have lent between $4bn and $7bn to the two groups.

It estimates the two borrowed at least $15.7bn from more than 100 lenders worldwide, evenly split between Middle-Eastern and international banks.