Press Releases

Amid news of the United States regulators’ shutting down of Silicon Valley Bank, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) assures “Kuwaiti banks’ exposure to said bank is extremely insignificant, as asserted through the CBK’s direct communication with local banks” the CBK Governor, Basel Al-Haroon stated. Furthermore, the banking system units’ position is both stable and resilient, supported by ample capital buffers.

The CBK has an integrated supervision system geared to fortifying the banking sector and to safeguarding financial stability, Al-Haroon added. Within this system, there is an integrative set of instructions and controls issued to banks designed to support their financial position and bolster all their financial soundness indicators, especially in terms of basic standards such as Capital Adequacy Ratio, liquidity ratios, as well as ratios related to asset quality and profitability. This is in addition to instructions and controls in the areas of enhancing governance, risk management, internal supervision systems, and internal/external auditing, along with areas of regulating banks’ credit policies to limit credit risk, as well as controls to guarantee all decisions regarding lending and financing applications are taken after due consideration and in due process.

The Governor again affirmed the soundness of banking system units’ conditions, noting that CBK is fully exercising its mandate and regulatory measures vis a vis banks through supervision based on a statistical system that ensures satisfaction of regulatory requirements, alongside on-site inspection on banks to shield the stability of sector units.