Press Releases
The Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait meets Board Chairmen of Kuwaiti Banks
Within the framework of continuous meetings between the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and the top management of Kuwaiti banks to discuss and exchange views on issues of mutual concern, His Excellency the CBK Governor, Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel, met with the board chairmen of Kuwaiti banks, at CBK Headquarters today. His Excellency welcomed the guests expressing his pleasure with this kind of communication and cooperation with the banks, and stressing on the importance of their fruitful participation. During this meeting, opinions were exchanged over the key economic and monetary developments at both local and international levels, as well as performance indicators of Kuwaiti banks, their plans and trends at this current stage. The Governor noted the strong financial positions and resilience of the banking sector represented in its financial integrity indicators in terms of Asset Quality, Capital Adequacy Ratio, Financial Leverage Ratio, and Liquidity Ratios, along with profitability ratios as bolstered by the continuous growth of banks’ profits.
Dr. Al-Hashel stated that a number of important topics were discussed during the meeting including the developments of global economic growth and the impact on economic retraction and increasing risk facing global monetary stability, pointing out the shifts affecting global market outlooks affected by the US Federal Reserve’s return to its standard monetary policy as of December 2015 after a relatively long period of zero-bound interest rate policy and accompanying quantitative easing programs. The CBK Governor also pointed out the pressure that the implementation of strict monetary policies might bring onto countries, companies, and highly-indebted families, and the negative impact of trade conflicts on global economic growth. Dr. Al-Hashel also indicated developments and volatility in the world oil market, remarking that despite the strong position of the banking sector in Kuwait and its solid financial integrity indicators that are supported by the CBK’s macroprudential policies, it is still imperative that we all, banks and regulators, strive to sustain these accomplishments and not to slack but, rather, take further hedging measures so that we are always alert and cautious against any repercussions of a slump in global economic growth.
