Bank Dhofar has raised a USD250 million three-year loan to be used for general funding, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The lender joins a number of Gulf banks that have tapped the loan market in recent weeks to bolster their balance sheets while regional liquidity drops amid persistently low oil prices. The loan was signed in the last week of December, three sources said on condition of anonymity as the information is private. They declined to reveal pricing details. Bank ABC, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi funded the transaction, the three sources added. Bank Dhofar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.   Continuing low oil prices are taking a toll on regional liquidity and some banks are grappling with deposit withdrawals by government and quasi-sovereign entities, which is pushing loan-to-deposit ratios higher. In Oman, while Bank Dhofar has avoided much of this deposit outflow so far - its deposits rose 16 percent in the year to 30 Sept - other lenders in the sultanate have been hit hard. National Bank of Oman reported an 11 percent YOY fall in deposits over the same period. Pressure on liquidity is expected to continue in 2016 as oil prices remain subdued and governments scramble to plug deficits using, among other methods, a drawdown of reserves and local currency debt issues, for which banks will be the main buyers in the absence of large local pension and insurance funds. (Reuters)