GCC banks up bad debt provisions

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) has said that provisions taken by GCC-based lenders against bad loans are estimated to have increased 40% to $9.4bn (Dhs34.5bn), compared to $6.68bn in 2008, Gulf News has reported. Markaz analysts said they expect GCC loans to grow by 4% in 2009, a significant drop from the historical average of 29% recorded between 2003 and 2008. "While we expect to see some recovery in lending in the GCC, we still expect Saudi Arabia and the UAE to be a drag on overall GCC loans growth," M.R. Raghu, Head of Research of Markaz said.