Qatar’s regulator to grant licences to GCC banks

Qatar’s central bank is to grant licences to Gulf Cooperation Council banks to open branches in the state, the government said on Wednesday.

Qatar already has a relatively large number of banks – around 18 – servicing a small population.

Licences for new banks will be given according to criteria set out by the central bank, according to a statement from Qatar’s committee for economic and investment affairs.

Usually in the GCC, whose six members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, banking licences are given to lenders on a reciprocal basis, so when two countries agree to ease rules on applications from each other.