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Kuwait’s Central Bank field teams pose unusual questions to banks

The Central Bank of Kuwait is now scrutinizing how banks handle customer inquiries on social media during inspections, focusing on whether responses are deliberate and coordinated or improvised by individual employees, to ensure professional standards and avoid miscommunication.

  • Banks do not have a dedicated department for customer inquiries, as most questions are repetitive and answered with standardized, canned responses.

  • The regulatory body aims to prevent customers from misunderstanding self-prompted answers given by employees.

  • This approach protects banks from undocumented answers that could lead to legal or regulatory risks.

It is noteworthy that bank officials have become increasingly familiar with the regulatory inquiries posed by the Central Bank of Kuwait’s field inspection teams during their periodic reviews of financial records.

Many professionals even anticipate these questions, which often range from relatively straightforward issues, such as the approval of an undeserved loan or excessive credit concentration on a particular customer or sector, to more complex matters, such as identifying transactions where anti-money laundering protocols were inadequately followed.

Recently, however, it seems that the Central Bank of Kuwait has introduced a new line of inquiry during its inspections. According to responsible sources who spoke to Al-Rai, the Central Bank is now focusing on how banks handle customer inquiries raised via social media.

One key question is whether each bank has a specialized department dedicated to providing well-considered and reviewed responses, or if such responses are left to the discretion of individual employees based on their respective sectors.

In addition, banks have stated that they do not designate a specific department to document responses to customer inquiries received via social media. They argue that most of these inquiries are repetitive, leading to standardized or “canned” responses that are nearly identical across all banks.

The sources noted that for exceptional inquiries that breach banking confidentiality, banks also provide standardized responses. These responses typically emphasize the inability to disclose such information, citing compliance with regulatory laws and directives. This approach helps protect the banks from providing undocumented answers that could later pose legal or regulatory risks, or falling into any trap.

Moreover, the sources also explained that the regulator’s aim in introducing these new questions is to ensure that banks deliver professional and consistent responses on social media, thereby reinforcing the principle of governance in the banking sector. This also helps mitigate the risk of customers and potential investors misinterpreting responses, a scenario that could arise if employees improvise their answers without proper oversight.



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