International banks stress their commitment to the Gulf region and local houses insist they will continue to lend to support sagging economies, but syndicated lending has nonetheless plunged this year.

So far this year, only $22.8bn of syndicated loans, project finance and bonds have been issued in the Middle East, down from $85.5bn last year and a peak of $126.9bn in 2007, says Dealogic, a data provider.