Central banks in GCC monetary union countries stop public sector loans

Central banks in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have been asked to stop giving loans to the public sector from January 1, 2010, reports Doha-based The Peninsula. The move comes as part of the GCC common monetary union agreement that the four countries signed last month.

The draft agreement forbids the central banks of member-states from lending to the public sector, says the report. The central banks from the four GCC countries will now have to sell off their public sector loan portfolios.