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UAE Banks have Almost No Lehman Exposure -CenBank | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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DUBAI, (Reuters) – Banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have almost no exposure to Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, the Gulf state’s central bank said on Thursday.

“The Central Bank stated that UAE banks had virtually no exposure to Lehman Brothers, that there was no systemic risk in the UAE as a result of the fallout in international money markets,” said a statement issued after Central Bank Governor Sultan al-Suweidi met top officials of banks in the regional trade hub.

Most of the UAE’s largest banks have said they had limited or no exposure to the turmoil surrounding Lehman. Emirates, the region’s largest bank by assets, said its exposure was negligible, while First Gulf Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank said they had no exposure.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi said it had no direct exposure to Lehman or insurer American International Group.

Suweidi said on Tuesday there was no systemic risk to the banking sector in his country from the U.S. financial crisis.