Middle East banks, suffering from a collapse in the value of their equity and real estate assets, have continued to restructure their capital bases, as the region's sovereign wealth funds refocus their attention on supporting local markets rather than taking stakes in western companies.

Shareholders in Qatar's Doha Bank have agreed to increase the bank's capital by issuing new shares worth up to 20% of its issued capital to the Qatar Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund. QIA launched a $5.3bn (€3.8bn) plan to buy shares of listed banks to shore up investor confidence in October.