The central bank in the United Arab Emirates has instructed local banks to suspend lending to two troubled Saudi conglomerates, the press reported on Thursday. The bank issued a directive to banks not to open any new loan facilities 'until further notice' with Saudi billionaire Maan al-Sanea's Saad Group and the Algosaibi Group, the economic newspaper Emirates Business 24-7 said. It said Saad's woes have rattled Sanea's 30-billion-dollar empire and 'represent one of the biggest defaults to hit the Gulf region since the onset of the financial crisis.' The UAE action follows a similar reported move in Kuwait, where banks are said to be owed more than 750 million dollars by Saad and Algosaibi, one of Saudi Arabia's oldest and wealthiest family companies. Earlier this month, the Saudi central bank froze the personal bank accounts of Sanea, one of the kingdom's most powerful tycoons with interests in finance and construction. Sanea, who ranked number 62 on Forbes magazine's 2009 billionaires list with a fortune estimated at seven billion dollars, has made large investments in international financial institutions, including HSBC, Citigroup and the Bank of China. The Saad group, whose credit ratings have been downgraded by two major international rating agencies, has said it will soon reveal a proposal to restructure its finances. 