When the International Monetary Fund (IMF) co-hosted its first ever conference on Islamic finance in 2015, it did so along with the Central Bank of Kuwait in Kuwait City. The IMF’s choice of partner and location is telling. Though Kuwait’s sharia-compliant finance market may have been overshadowed by more illustrious regional peers in recent times, it is nevertheless one of the oldest and most well established in the world.
Kuwait Finance House, the country’s largest Islamic bank by both Tier 1 capital and total assets, was one of the first to be created in 1977, with the backing of the country’s government and private sector. But in recent years, this strong pedigree has been matched by the introduction of innovative products and services, as well as the global growth story of Kuwait's Islamic banks. Taken together, this has elevated the country’s Islamic finance market to new heights.
