Amid domestic political turmoil, and largely without the stimulus of the country's $130bn national development plan, the Kuwaiti banking sector still managed to record growth and strong performances in 2012. While the Arab world, particularly Syria and Egypt, was beset by wars and political tensions, Kuwaiti banks achieved growth and expansion in Turkey and across the Gulf, heralding the beginning of a new era, unencumbered by the domestic political stalemate of recent years.
Preliminary results for 2012 from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) show that aggregate banking assets increased 7% to Kd52.7bn ($185bn), with customer deposits increasing by 16.5% and shareholder’s equity by 4.1%. According to the new CBK governor, Mohammad Al-Hashel, Kuwaiti banks continue to be well capitalised and highly liquid, with a capital adequacy ratio of 18% and liquid-assets-to-total-assets ratio of about 25% at the end of 2012.