The net profit of Kuwait's top 9 local banks increased 28.7 percent to KD 1.5 billion ($4.9 billion), as a result of the jump in net interest income at National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank, Boubyan Bank and Commercial Bank of Kuwait, which grew to KD 2.6 billion in 2023, up from KD 2.3 billion in 2022.
Since the tightening of global monetary conditions began in 2022, the Central Bank of Kuwait has raised its key discount rate by 250 basis points to 4.25 percent, boosting the net interest margins of most Kuwaiti banks, which from an industry perspective rose to 2.78 percent in the third quarter of 2023 from 2.62 percent in the previous year.
Source (Al-Rai Kuwaiti Newspaper, Edited)
