Local banks Masraf al-Rayan, Barwa Bank, and International Bank of Qatar have ended merger talks.

In a statement on the Qatar stock exchange, the banks said they could not reach an agreement to complete the transaction and that they will continue their business as usual in line with their individual business plans.

The three banks entered into initial merger negotiations in December 2016.

The merger would have created the largest Sharia compliant bank in Qatar and the third largest Sharia compliant bank in the Middle East with assets worth more than QR160bn ($44bn) and a share capital of more than QR22bn.