FINANCIAL NEWS

Dishonoured cheques in Qatar at $1.1 billion

19 Jul 2010

(MENAFN) The value of dishonoured cheques in Qatar in the aftermath of the global financial crisis is estimated at $1.1 billion and the figure is expected to almost double to $2.1 billion by the end of the year, The Peninsula reported.

Qatari banks are suffering from huge defaults due to the global recession with the total expected to be in the range of QR3.5bn, or close to a billion dollars.

The country?s top lender, half state-owned Qatar National Bank?s default alone is estimated at QR1bn.

As a result of the yawning default problem, the banks are shying away from giving away loans and are pursuing conservative credit policies. They have raised their lending rates as well. Bank deposits have also been affected.

The problem of cheques being dishonoured due to insufficient funds in the bank accounts of those issuing them is on the rise after the onset of the global crisis as businesses and individuals are hard-pressed for cash.

Criminal cases rose in Qatar last year by almost fifty percent from 29,000 in 2008 to almost 45,000 in 2009 with the lawyers claiming that the increase was largely due to bouncing cheques.

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