Banking sources estimated that expats have received around 4 Billion Kuwaiti dinars in loans, an Arabic daily reported.
Out of which, 3.4 billion Kuwaiti dinars were given as installment loans for housing purposes, and 622 million Kuwaiti dinars were given as consumer loans.
The latest statistics by the Central Bank of Kuwait suggests that the total amount for personal loans taken out in Kuwait has reached 16.6 billion Kuwaiti dinars. But the majority of these personal loans were borrowed by Kuwaitis, and expats took out only a mere 24 percent of the total amount borrowed.
Even if we talk about consumer loans, 60 percent of these consumer loans were taken by Kuwaitis and only 40 percent by the expats- An Arabic daily reported
Although according to a recent study, As for housing loans, Kuwaitis took the majority of the loans, around 72 percent, compared to expats who took out 28 percent.
The source added that the banks have strict rules for deciding the recipients of the loan. The majority of the banks prefer to lend to non-Kuwaitis working in the government sector and in large corporations, as their salaries are more likely guaranteed.
In addition, lending policies differ from bank to bank and some banks have a cap on the total percentage of loans they give out to expats, some set the cap at 20 percent while otherwise have it at 10 percent.
Unpaid loans by expats
While many expats have started leaving Kuwait due to expired visas, some banks have begun the process of prosecuting those with unpaid loans, an Arabic daily reported.
The daily also quoted a source “the loans taken out by expats are not waived if their residencies expire and some banks have begun to prosecute defaulting clients abroad and their sponsors at home, with the help of debt collection companies.”
The source clarified that the “weight of money expat borrowed does not constitute a massive amount, in terms of value, as the loan ceiling for the majority of expats is specific, often directed to consumer spending, which have specified conditions based on salaries.”
The majority of those that have defaulted on their loans are individuals working in the capacity of teaching, engineering, and medical staff.
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