Qatar National Bank in loan talks - sources | Reuters

Qatar National Bank, the Gulf state's largest bank, is in talks with banks on refinancing a $1.85 billion loan maturing July 22, two sources said on Thursday.

Refinancing the full amount could prove tricky, the bankers said, given the reluctance of European banks to commit new funds in the face of the euro zone crisis.

"(Also,) they are better rated than many of the banks they are going to, so the banks will have to take it as a loss-leader as their funding costs will be higher than for QNB," a London-based banker involved in the talks said, on condition of anonymity.

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