Banking

Underpinned by rising commodity prices and, consequently, increased domestic spending, Kuwait’s banking sector performed well in the 18 months to mid-2018. The industry posted net profit growth of 8.9% and total asset growth of 5.9% to $251.9bn in 2017, even as local banks moved to adhere to a raft of new provisioning rules. With the price of crude more than doubling from $28 per barrel in January 2016 to $76 in September 2018, the state has expressed confidence in its ability to move forward with $112.5bn in planned capital expenditure under the National Development Plan 2015-20. This will have positive knock-on effects for the banking sector, which has long been a beneficiary of state spending in the form of government deposits and financing opportunities. This chapter contains an interview with Mohammad Y Al Hashel, Governor, Central Bank of Kuwait; and Fatah Adour, General Manager, Citibank Kuwait.