Low-income bank accounts rise 11.7% as Kuwait pushes financial inclusion

• The Central Bank emphasized that banks pay special attention to people with disabilities by providing banking services tailored to their needs.
• This includes branches equipped to serve customers with disabilities, staff trained in sign language, and ATMs adapted for easier use.
• Under Central Bank regulations, banks are required to designate at least one branch in each governorate to provide comprehensive banking services for people with disabilities.
• As of September 2025, the Kuwaiti banking sector recorded a high capital adequacy ratio of 18.1 percent, while non-performing loans declined to their lowest level at 1.6 percent of total loans.

Official data has revealed a notable increase in the number of bank accounts held by low-income individuals, workers in simple service and craft occupations, and domestic workers, reflecting continued progress in financial inclusion efforts.

By August 2025, the total number of such accounts reached 1,281,280, compared with 1,147,234 in January 2025, marking an increase of 134,046 accounts, or 11.7 percent over the period.

The figures were published by the Central Bank of Kuwait in its “Briefing on Market Economy Literature”. The data underscores the role of local banks in expanding access to financial services for all workers, with the aim of integrating all segments of society into the formal financial system.

These efforts, reports Al-Anba daily, are designed to enhance individuals’ ability to manage their financial resources, support their participation in economic activity, and improve overall financial and economic well-being.

The Central Bank emphasized that banks pay special attention to people with disabilities by providing banking services tailored to their needs. This includes branches equipped to serve customers with disabilities, staff trained in sign language, and ATMs adapted for easier use. Under Central Bank regulations, banks are required to designate at least one branch in each governorate to provide comprehensive banking services for people with disabilities.

The Central Bank of Kuwait continues to play a central role in enabling a market-based economy by ensuring the efficient operation of supply and demand forces, maintaining liquidity balance, and strengthening confidence in the monetary and financial system.

Through its supervisory and regulatory tools, it supports an environment that encourages individual initiative, investment, and innovation within a well-regulated and sustainable free-market framework.

Monetary stability has been reinforced through the maintenance of relative price stability, currency stability, and the purchasing power of the Kuwaiti dinar, factors that support both investment and consumption.

This stability is achieved through continuous monitoring of economic indicators, assessment of local and global developments, forward-looking monetary policy actions, and the exchange rate policy.

The continued application of the dinar’s pegged exchange rate system has enhanced the Central Bank’s ability to shield the national economy from sharp fluctuations in major global currencies, while also providing relative flexibility during periods of US dollar strength.

Financial stability has likewise been consolidated through the uninterrupted provision of financial services across all sectors of the economy, even during periods of pressure and crisis.

Close supervision of the banking sector, comprehensive risk analysis, and the application of precautionary policies have contributed to these outcomes.

As of September 2025, the Kuwaiti banking sector recorded a high capital adequacy ratio of 18.1 percent, while non-performing loans declined to their lowest level at 1.6 percent of total loans. Coverage of non-performing loans stood at approximately 239 percent.

Entities subject to the supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait currently total 93, including 10 local banks, 11 foreign banks, and 72 registered companies operating under its oversight. These include finance companies, investment companies, exchange companies, a credit information company, and electronic money payment firms.

The banking sector continues to play a vital role in supporting economic activity. By the end of October 2025, local banks’ assets reached 208.5 percent of gross domestic product, while credit facilities extended to residents amounted to 110 percent of GDP, highlighting the depth and importance of the financial sector in the national economy.

In support of economic growth, the Central Bank reduced the discount rate to 3.5 percent, cutting it by 25 basis points from 3.75 percent, effective December 11, 2025.

The move was taken in light of ongoing monitoring of global and domestic economic and monetary developments, and the need to tailor policies to the specific conditions of the Kuwaiti economy.

The decision aims to stimulate economic activity while preserving the financial stability of banks and financial institutions.

Indicators at the end of October 2025 point to continued relative stability in the exchange rate of the Kuwaiti dinar against major currencies, reinforcing its attractiveness and strength.

The Central Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to closely tracking economic and monetary developments at both the global and local levels, and to taking necessary measures using available monetary and macroprudential tools in a gradual, balanced, and flexible manner to safeguard monetary and financial stability in Kuwait.

In the area of cybersecurity and operational risk, the Central Bank issued an updated “Cyber and Operational Resilience Framework for Local Banks and Financial Institutions” on December 3, 2025.

The new framework builds on the 2020 cybersecurity framework and provides comprehensive guidance on cyber resilience operations, operational resilience standards, third-party and supply chain risk management, fraud prevention and management, and the development of human capabilities in cybersecurity, further strengthening the resilience of Kuwait’s financial system.