Over the past decade Kuwait has worked to shore up its longstanding reputation as a centre for Islamic financial services, leading to the rapid expansion of sharia-compliant banks and investment companies in recent years. Islamic banking assets, at just over 20% of the total in 2005, grew to around 45% by the end of 2013, and an IMF report released in December 2014 showed Kuwait’s sharia-...
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Chapter | Islamic Financial Services from The Report: Kuwait 2015
Kuwait’s banking system has improved markedly in the years since the global economic downturn: at the end of 2014, total customer and government deposits held by local banks stood at $129.6bn, up from $125.5bn at the end of 2013. Meanwhile, a series of new rules put in place by the Central Bank of Kuwait and other regulatory bodies in recent years have steadied the sector, providing a stable...
Thanks to robust non-oil sector growth and ongoing regional investment in infrastructure development, Bahrain’s banks are proving more resilient than expected during this period of lower oil prices.
Interviews & Viewpoints | Fahad Al Mubarak, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency: Interview from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
What have the Saudi authorities done to deepen the local financial sector in recent years?
Articles & Analysis | Growing interest in SMEs in Saudi Arabia from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
The Saudi Arabian banking sector has a significant growth opportunity in the form of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. The nation’s SMEs account for around 90% of registered businesses and 60% of total employment, according to a recent report by Aljazira Capital, and as a result they occupy a central position in the Kingdom’s...
Articles & Analysis | Saudi Arabia's new mortgage law from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
The effect of recently introduced mortgage legislation has become one of the more salient industry concerns in 2015. First promulgated in March 2013, many market observers thought the law a long overdue formalisation of a rapidly growing segment. Real estate lending had been steadily rising as a percentage of the consumer credit total for some...