RIYADH: Corporate loan applications dropped this year in the Gulf region, while consumer retail loans saw a rise compared to 2020, the CEO of Citigroup MENA has revealed. The retail loan requests grew by 2.3 percent this year, Elissar Fara Antonios said in an interview with Al Arabiya. The banking sector in the region has excess liquidity that enables it to support the recovery of economies, she said. Antonios added that there is a rise in offerings and mergers in the region, with expectations of witnessing more activity and expansions thanks to the opening up of sectors such as travel and tourism. "We noticed an increase in the activity of consolidations and monetization in the region in the last two years, despite the lockdown," Antonios said.