Middle East Focus: Gulf Financial and Industrial Sectors: Recession, Stimulus, and Denial

Arabia Deserta

Gulf Financial and Industrial Sectors: Recession, Stimulus, and Denial

“Anxiety intensifies in Saudi banks after the collapse of the largest owner of wealth in the country: the debts of Sa’ad and al-Qusaibi Groups to international and (Persian) Gulf banks reach $15 billion……Pressures on banks to continue until all financial details about their exposure to al-Qusaibi and Sa’ad are known… The Saudi government plans to continue expanding public spending despite reduced petroleum prices…..It is expected that most Saudi banks had relationships and deals with the two troubled groups….Sa’ad Group has faced serious problems recently, which pushed the central bank to freeze all assets of its chairman Sa’ad al-San’e…” ME Online

Most Gulf banks continue to claim that they are doing just fine: they are now, as they often are, in a deep state of denial. They assert their success as they clamor for public support, while fearing and resisting transparency. As are most government financial officials also in denial: on the one hand they institute massive rescue programs for the banks, on the other hand, they insist the institutions are doing just fine. They seem to think that admitting to facts would somehow cause them to lose their cojones.

Speaking of stimulus: everybody everywhere in the whole wide world is having their own stimulus plan, everybody, that is, except Republicans in the United States Senate. But, then again, everybody everywhere else in the whole wide world of industrial countries have their guaranteed health care system, everybody, except for a few members of the United States Senate. Important question: how many of these ‘few’ senators are there?I mean the Democratic one.
Cheers
mhg
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