Financial Services

Kuwait’s Islamic banking sector has consolidated its position as one of the largest markets in the world with the completion of the acquisition of Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank (AUB) by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) in October 2022. Prior to the deal, the Kuwait government held 23.9% ownership in KFH, an additional 24.1% via the Kuwait Investment Authority, and 18.69% in AUB. The...

After a resilient performance in 2020, the international Islamic finance sector fared positively in 2021 as an improved economic environment and a rise in the number of large projects combined to drive demand for services. Despite the twin challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall in international oil prices that affected many of the world’s heavyweights in Islamic...

One of the world’s largest Islamic finance markets, Kuwait has a wide range of banking, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and takaful (Islamic insurance) entities and products on offer, with recent headwinds such as the Covid-19 pandemic proving little obstacle to the sharia-compliant sector’s continuing robust growth.

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) introduced new guidelines in February 2022 for establishing digital banks. These regulations reflect Kuwait’s efforts to support banking innovation for future economic development and financial stability. The new guidelines are expected to help the country’s banking sector keep pace with developments in global financial services.

The Gulf banking sector has witnessed an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in recent years, as lenders continue to deal with the economic headwinds associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. At the outset of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 it was anticipated that the economic slowdown and the associated fall in oil prices would accelerate the M&A trend...