Saudi Arabia said to have offered $4b injection to banks

Dubai/Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s central bank offered lenders short-term loans in late June to help ease liquidity constraints, according to five people familiar with the matter. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, or SAMA, as the central bank is known, offered about 15 billion riyals (Dh14.7 billion, $4 billion), two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The loans were offered at a discounted rate, two of the people said. SAMA offered individual banks as much as 1.5 billion riyals, based on their balance sheets, four people said. The loans are for up to one year.