Saudi and Qatari banks cheer investors - FT.com

Bank earnings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar brought some confidence to hard-pressed regional investors this week, although they are less excited about numbers due to come out of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Analysts say the main point of difference is credit growth, which is at two-year highs in Saudi Arabia for example, but is still stagnating in the UAE.

In Saudi Arabia, leading banks’ earnings are up 26 per cent so far this quarter compared with the same period last year, according to CAPM Investment in Abu Dhabi. Credit growth in the largest Arab economy accelerated to 9.2 per cent year-on-year in August, the highest since April 2009, while in the UAE it slowed to 2.6 per cent in July.

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