Arab banks halt transactions in Qatari reals in deepening Gulf crisis

After Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Yemen broke off ties with Qatar early Monday, Saudi and Egyptian banks announced they are discontinuing trading in the Qatari real. This a major blow for the Qatari economy. DEBKAfile: Around 2 million foreigners from Muslim countries work in Qatar and most are paid in local currency which they use for sending money home.