Central Bank of Kuwait: Press Releases

Showing 10 of 15 Results

13.12.05

Application of the Basle II Capital Adequacy Standard

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced that the CBK Board of Directors, in its meeting on 11th of December 2005, has decided to endorse the application of Basle II Capital Adequacy Standard unto the conventional domestic banks as of 31st of December 2005, thereby making the State of Kuwait the first Arab country to apply this standard.

05.12.05

A Press Statement concerning the Upcoming MENAFATF Evaluator Training in Kuwait

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, announced that CBK and the Middle East & North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), in coordination with both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, are organizing an Evaluator Training Seminar during the period 17 - 21 December 2005 in the State of Kuwait.

20.11.05

Registration of a Bank Branch (National Bank of Abu Dhabi) in the CBK Bank Register

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), announced that on 13th of November 2005 the Minister of Finance Decision No. 24 was issued regarding the registration of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi branch in the CBK Bank Register. Accordingly, the entry was made on that date.

14.11.05

Seminar on Good Corporate Governance in the Banking and Financial Institutions

The Central Bank of Kuwait, in cooperation with the Union of Kuwaiti Banks, is organizing a seminar on good corporate governance in the banking and financial institutions in the State of Kuwait, during the period 15-16 November 2005.

02.11.05

CBK Raises its Discount Rate to 6%

H.E. the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, announced in a press statement to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the CBK Board of Directors has decided to raise the discount rate by a quarter percentage point to 6% from 5.75% effective from 2 November 2005. H.E. the Governor explained that the decision was in line with the CBK efforts to strengthen monetary stability in the national economy and check inflationary pressures. He added that the continued surveillance by CBK of domestic monetary, banking and economic developments on the one hand, the trends in interest rates on international currencies, particularly the US dollar on the other hand, revealed a need to raise the discount rate to maintain the competitiveness of the Kuwaiti Dinar to attract local savings after taking into account the exchange rate peg between the Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) and the US dollar, and the upward trend in US interest rates.

03.10.05

CBK Raises Discount Rate to 5.75%

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) decided to raise the CBK discount rate by 25 basis points to 5.75% from 5.50%, as of 3-10-2005. This decision was announced by H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait in a press release to the Kuwaiti News Agency KUNA, where H.E. explained that the decision to raise the discount rate was in line with CBK's policy aimed at maintaining the competitiveness of the Kuwaiti dinar as a store of national savings, in light of the sustained uptrend in interest rates on major currencies, led by the US dollar, to which the exchange rate of the Kuwaiti dinar is linked within specific margins, on the one hand, and given CBK's keenness on further firming the atmosphere of monetary stability and curbing inflationary pressures in the national economy, on the other hand.

18.09.05

Registration of a Bank Branch (HSBC Bank Middle East) in the CBK Bank Register

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), stated that on 14th of September 2005, the Minister of Finance issued the Decision No. (16) regarding the registration of the (HSBC Bank Middle East) branch in the CBK Bank Register. Accordingly, the registration was made on that date.

12.09.05

H.E. the Governor's Statement on the Total Transformation of the Kuwait Real Estate Bank to an Islamic Bank, and the Opening of a Citibank Branch in the State of Kuwait

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor of CBK has stated that on 11 September 2005 the CBK Board of Directors met and deliberated the total transformation of the Kuwait Real Estate Bank (KREB) to operate in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia, and decided to postpone resolution on the subject till all major vacancies are filled, specially the post of the Chief Executive Officer.

03.07.05

CBK Raises its Discount Rate to 5.50%

The CBK Board of Directors has decided to raise the discount rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% from 5.25%, effective from Sunday 3-7-2005. In a press statement to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), H.E. the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, emphasized CBK's keenness on ensuring the conformity of KD interest rates with the trends in interest rates on major international currencies, particularly the US dollar, so as to provide an atmosphere that enhances the firm bases of monetary stability in the national economy. H.E. the Governor explained that the competitiveness of the national currency as a store of domestic savings is a key element of monetary stability in the Kuwaiti economy, as these savings represent the main source which the local banking and financial system units draw on to meet the financing requirements of their customers' various economic activities. H.E. the Governor added that the openness of the national economy to the outside world, its freedom from any constraints on the flow of funds for capital and current transactions, and the pegging of the KD to the US dollar within specific margins, necessitate the conformity of KD interest rates with the trends in interest rates on major international currencies, particularly the US dollar.

10.04.05

The Developments of the Balance of Payments of the State of Kuwait for Year 2004

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait(CBK), announced in a press release to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the provisional Balance of Payments statistics of the State of Kuwait for 2004 indicate that the 'Balance on Goods' of the State of Kuwait (the arithmetical difference between the total value of merchandise exports and imports on 'fob' basis), realized a surplus estimated at KD 5688 million in 2004, thus recording an increase of KD 2138 million (60.2%), above its level of KD 3550 million during 2003. H.E. the Governor clarified that CBK resorted to estimating the value of non-oil merchandize imports and exports for the preparation of the 'Balance on Goods' of 2004, since these data were not available to date from their official sources.