Saad settles $2.6 bln debt with local banks

Saudi billionaire Maan al-Sanea, the chairman of conglomerate Saad Group, has reached an agreement with local banks to settle about 9.7 billion Saudi riyals ($2.6 billion) in outstanding loans, two bankers said on Thursday.

But foreign lenders like Citigroup Inc and Dubai-based Mashreqbank were not included in the restructuring deal, raising concerns that the kingdom doesn't plan on backing a wider solution with international banks.

The deal put to rest part of more than $20 billion in loans from local and international institution that were extended to Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi and Brothers Co, or AHAB, two Saudi conglomerates that were overleveraged as liquidity dried up and assets plummeted amid the global credit crunch and recession.