Kuwait late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah signed a law on July 8, 1965 establishing Saving and Credit Bank, replacing Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB), with a mandate of alleviating economic burden from Kuwaiti families by facilitating loans and credits, and giving grants.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem first signed KCB establishment law in 1960 with the purpose of facilitating real estate, industrial, and agricultural credit, as well as providing loans to Kuwaiti employees of the state.
The Saving and Credit bank had its objectives altered. It emphasized raising awareness in regards to saving and investments culture. However, in 1995 the bank was reverted back to its original name, KCB, ceasing all saving activities.
The bank currently operates as in independent public establishment and under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.
The bank prides itself on being a constant accompaniment to citizens’ life journeys and monumental decisions. KCB General Director Salah Al-Mudhaf stated “the bank aids its beneficiaries in building their forever homes and establishing their future plans (like renovation), therefore, magnifying a sense of security in one’s homeland, Kuwait.” KCB provides a variety of services to the Kuwaiti people, amongst which are real estate loans, considered to be most prominent type of loans in the bank. The bank offers Kuwaiti citizens a loan of Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) 70,000 (USD 232,000) with no interest, as well as other types of loans for property developments such as refurbishing projects worth KD 12,000 (around USD 40,000).
Aside from property-related loans the bank also provides social loans and grants. For instance, it grants Kuwaiti women a loan worth KD 70,000 under certain conditions, and up to KD 6,000 (USD 20,000) marriage loans. Additionally, the bank distributes grants for people with disabilities.
KCB has also been working in close proximity with Martyr’s Bureau for 30 years. A special counter has been set up in all of the bank’s locations for families of martyrs, so that they are given priority and would not need appointments to complete their paper work.
KCB recently announced that an agreement with Martyr’s Bureau has been made to create a coordination office to further ease the families’ transactions.
The bank announced last year that the total of loans and grants disbursed between January-December 2020 amounted to KD 183.8 million (about USD 606.5 million). KCB announced in a September 2020 update that total loans it offered in 2010-20 amounted to KD 2.75 billion (USD nine billion).
It also recently announced that by June 26 2021, the bank revenues over the past 10 years amounted to KD 600 million (approx. USD two billion).
While the bank has been working tirelessly to provide optimal services to its clients, the global pandemic proved a difficult challenge.
The coronavirus pandemic took its toll on many families causing them financial struggles, however, following the instructions of the council of ministers in deferring financial obligations for six months, the bank postponed loan payments for citizens who wished to.
The first deferral in 2020 was estimated at KD 100 million (USD 332 million) benefiting around 150,000 citizens. As for the latest postponement requests that took place in May 2021, they amounted to 63,118 beneficiaries out of 154,501 clients, or 41 percent of total of borrowers.
Another challenge facing KCB is the most recent distribution of construction permits in Mutlaa and South Abullah Al-Mubarak areas, with more than 31,000 residential units. The bank worked on a study with an international consultant four years ago to deal with the distributions.
Based on the study, KCB has been coordinating with Ministry of Finance, Kuwait Investment Authority, Central Bank of Kuwait and National Assembly to find financial alternatives in order to ensure bank’s sustainability and ability to provide residential care.
KCB is a forerunner in contributing to Kuwait’s 2035 vision, as it is the first government entity to transform to digital services, according to Microsoft. The bank states that 98 percent of its services could be accessed online or through mobile applications. It is also among first to implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to create a smoother process and provide clients with improved services.
Source: Kuwait News Agency