Some Gulf banks use the private placement market to raise funds as the Middle East conflict continues, CreditSights' Pramod Shenoi says in a note. Private placements are non-public forms of raising capital by selling debt securities to accredited investment institutions. This method of raising capital has the advantage of not subjecting the issuer to intra-day volatility, though the issuer is paying higher costs to get the deal than issuing in a public market, Shenoi says. Qatar's QNB bank and Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank have raised $2.75 billion and $750 million, respectively, through private placements in recent weeks, Shenoi says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)