Al-Haroon urges better capital allocation over credit growth
Governor Basel A Al-Haroon urged Kuwaiti banks to finance productivity rather than pursue balance-sheet growth at a Kuwait City roundtable with Global Finance Magazine. He linked diversification to deeper markets and financial resilience.
Productivity before balance-sheet growth
The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) governor said trade fragmentation, geopolitical tensions and energy and shipping disruptions affect inflation, financing and investment.
Kuwait's external buffers and strong sovereign balance sheet absorb shocks; banks remain capitalized, liquid and profitable, with low non-performing loans and prudent provisioning.
Kuwait Vision 2035 requires productive private investment, not credit growth alone; banks cannot replace structural reform.
The Financing and Liquidity Law of 2025 offers scope for regular bond and sukuk issuance to deepen liquidity, broaden investors, expand collateral and improve pricing.
Mortgage reform must pair access with affordability, underwriting and macroprudential safeguards against excessive leverage.
Resilience governs the AI agenda
The CBK introduced its Cyber and Operational Resilience Framework in December 2025, moving beyond cybersecurity compliance toward a resilience-first, maturity-oriented model.
Al-Haroon advocated AI for productivity, fraud detection, compliance and client service, backed by data governance, model discipline, third-party resilience and accountability.
Banks have strengthened digital infrastructure and business continuity.
Roundtable participants included Global Finance Managing Director Richard Scholtz and Middle East and North Africa Editor Chloe Domat.
Diversification without weaker safeguards
Al-Haroon framed sustainability as prudent banking, integrating environmental and transition risks into governance and risk management.
He advocated credible green and transition finance for economically sound projects.
His agenda links productivity and deeper markets to preserving resilience, not relaxing safeguards.