RBS leads Dubai World lenders, HSBC may have most at stake

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc underwrote more loans than any institution to Dubai World, the state company seeking to reschedule debt, while HSBC Holdings Plc has the most at risk in the United Arab Emirates, according to J P Morgan Chase & Co.

RBS, the largest UK government-controlled bank, arranged $2.3 billion, or 17 per cent, of Dubai World loans since January 2007, JPMorgan said in a report today, citing Dealogic data. HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, has the “largest absolute exposure” in the UAE with $17 billion of loans in 2008, JPMorgan said, citing the Emirates Banks Association. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC may be owed $1.9 billion by Dubai World, making it the largest creditor outside the emirate, said two people familiar with the companies.

“The market is very nervous about exposure to Dubai and RBS’s name has been associated with it as both a lender and a book runner,” said David Williams, a banks analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton Ltd in London. “People are concerned it’s going to produce a new wave of losses. Dubai is driving everything in the market at the moment.”