Deposits held by residents and non-residents in local Kuwaiti banks saw a notable increase of 6.1 percent by the end of June 2025, reaching KD 55.95 billion—an annual rise of KD 3.219 billion compared to KD 52.734 billion in June 2024. Since the beginning of this year, deposits have grown by 3.95 percent, amounting to an increase of KD 2.13 billion from KD 53.823 billion in December.
According to the Central Bank of Kuwait’s monetary statistics, government deposits witnessed a decline of 8 percent year-on-year, dropping by KD 403 million to KD 4.63 billion in June 2025 from KD 5.03 billion a year earlier. These deposits also decreased by 9 percent since December, falling by KD 456.1 million from KD 5.083 billion, reports Al-Rai daily.
In contrast, deposits from public institutions rose by 12.41 percent annually to KD 7.59 billion, up KD 838.2 million from KD 6.75 billion in June 2024. Since the start of 2025, these deposits have grown by 6.4 percent or KD 459.4 million. Private sector deposits also saw significant growth, increasing 6.8 percent annually to KD 43.73 billion, a rise of KD 2.784 billion from KD 41.608 billion in June 2024.
From December to June, private sector deposits grew by 5.1 percent, or KD 2.126 billion. Of the total customer deposits in Kuwaiti banks, KD 51.35 billion were held by residents, while KD 4.6 billion belonged to non-residents.
Credit facilities granted by banks to residents and non-residents reached record highs, increasing by 7.14 percent year-on-year to KD 59.795 billion in June 2025, up KD 3.987 billion from KD 55.8 billion in June 2024. Compared to the beginning of the year, these facilities have risen by 4.6 percent or KD 2.625 billion from KD 57.169 billion in December. By June’s end, KD 51.69 billion in facilities were extended to residents and KD 8.1 billion to non-residents.
These facilities were spread across 12 economic sectors over six months. The personal facilities sector led the growth, with an annual increase of 3.44 percent to KD 19.58 billion. This total included KD 2.045 billion in consumer loans, up 1.56 percent; KD 16.853 billion in housing loans, up 4.2 percent; and KD 222.8 million in private and model housing loans, which declined by 19.7 percent.
Loans for purchasing securities rose 7.1 percent to KD 4.46 billion. Trade sector financing increased 5.5 percent to KD 3.9 billion, while industrial sector loans rose 4.7 percent to KD 2.78 billion. The construction sector saw a 3.2 percent rise to KD 3 billion. Agricultural and fishing sector financing jumped to KD 41.3 million.
Banks extended KD 10.66 billion in credit to the real estate sector, KD 2.43 billion to the crude oil and gas sector, KD 847.7 million to public services, and KD 5.6 billion to other services. Loans to banks totaled KD 3.61 billion, and KD 2.87 billion in facilities were granted to non-bank financial institutions, including insurance, exchange, investment, and finance companies.
The total assets of local banks also expanded notably. During the first half of 2025, assets grew by 9.82 percent year-on-year to KD 97.28 billion, an increase of KD 8.7 billion from KD 88.59 billion in June 2024.
This growth was largely supported by a 19.76 percent annual rise in foreign assets, which reached KD 30.54 billion, and a 6.45 percent increase in claims on the private sector, totaling KD 49.11 billion. Other assets grew 4.77 percent to KD 3.12 billion, and claims on public institutions increased by 3.58 percent to KD 3.73 billion.
Shareholders’ equity in Kuwaiti banks rose 9.4 percent year-on-year to KD 17.127 billion in June 2025, marking a KD 1.472 billion increase from KD 15.65 billion in June 2024. Compared to December, it rose 6.94 percent or KD 1.11 billion from KD 16.01 billion.
Exchange companies also experienced strong growth in profitability. Net profits rose by 44.31 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, climbing KD 4 million to KD 14.95 million from KD 10.36 million during the same period last year. Revenues rose 20.96 percent to KD 46.46 million, compared to KD 38.41 million in the first half of 2024.
Of these revenues, KD 39.79 million came from currency sales, KD 438.5 thousand from bank interest, and KD 6.24 million from other sources. Expenses and charges increased by 12.3 percent to KD 31.51 million from KD 28.06 million, with KD 25.7 million attributed to administrative and banking costs, KD 717.3 thousand in interest, KD 4.58 million in allocations, and KD 508.4 thousand in miscellaneous expenses.
Meanwhile, credit card spending declined during the first half of 2025. The Central Bank of Kuwait reported a 4.3 percent drop compared to the same period in 2024, with total spending reaching KD 22.943 billion, down from KD 23.978 billion. ATM cash withdrawals declined by 10.3 percent, amounting to KD 4.618 billion, while website transactions decreased by 8.4 percent to KD 8.813 billion.
In contrast, transactions through point-of-sale systems increased by 3.3 percent to KD 9.511 billion. External card spending rose 7.23 percent to KD 1.482 billion, while internal spending dropped 5 percent to KD 21.46 billion. Domestic card usage accounted for 93.5 percent of all transactions, with external spending representing 6.46 percent.
Money supply, measured as M2, increased by 4.69 percent year-on-year in June 2025 to reach KD 41.98 billion, compared to KD 40.09 billion in June 2024. On a monthly basis, it rose 0.46 percent from KD 41.79 billion in May. Currency in circulation reached KD 2.11 billion, up 3.17 percent year-on-year and 3.2 percent month-on-month. This included KD 2.08 billion in banknotes and 31.46 million in coins.
Kuwait’s official reserve assets also increased, reaching KD 14.38 billion in June 2025, a 1.91 percent rise from KD 14.11 billion in May and a 3.07 percent increase since December. However, foreign currency and deposits abroad slightly declined by 0.47 percent year-on-year to KD 12.75 billion but rose 2.8 percent compared to the previous month.
