Business
PRESSR: Kuwait banks’ half-yearly results reflect resilience and growth despite global uncertainty
PRESSR: Kuwait banks’ half-yearly results reflect resilience and growth despite global uncertainty
About this update from Gulf Bank K.s.c.
Share prices’ country average increases to a whopping 22.94% from the same time last yearKuwait: In continuation to the yearly performance report published in April 2025, KPMG Kuwait published it’s Kuwait-specific half-yearly banking report summarizing the financial performance of the country’s listed banks in H1’2025. Titled Kuwait listed banks’ results – H1’2025, the report offers a comparative analysis of Kuwait’s nine listed commercial banks’ financial results for half year ending June 2025 (H1’2025) versus half year ending 30 June 2024 (H1’2024).Banks in Kuwait closed H1’2025 strong, with the country’s average growth (y-o-y) in terms of total assets (10.38%) and net profit (3.63%) in the green. The report also pointed that four out of nine banks saw a decrease in cost-to-income ratio in H1’2025 as compared to H1’2024. Along with the positives, KPMG’s analysis also indicated a downward trend in the country average with respect to return on assets and return of equity, with both indicators dipping to -0.25% and -0.02%, respectively.The biggest shift in H1’2025 compared to H1’2024, however, was in terms of the overall share prices where every bank marked a double-digit increase, moving the country average to a whopping 22.94% from the same time last year.Summarizing Kuwait’s banking sector’s performance for the last six months, Bhavesh Gandhi, Partner and Head of Financial Services, KPMG Kuwait, said:“Despite the ramifications of global reciprocal tariffs announced by the US earlier this year, and the overall geopolitical situations in the wider Middle East region, the banks in Kuwait stayed resilient and witnessed steady growth in terms of net profit and total assets. We have also witnessed an increased focus on cost-management across banks in Kuwait. Banks are leveraging AI as an automation tool to reduce operational costs witnessed in the half-yearly results.”The KPMG publication probed deeper into the banks’ performance based on eight key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify any underlying themes that could play a part in shaping Kuwait’s banking industry. They were: (1) total assets; (2) net profit; (3) share price; (4) return on equity; (5) return on assets; (6) cost-to-income ratio; (7) loan by stage; and (8) non-performing loan ratio.Speaking further about the country’s banking sector, Bhavesh added, “The most-significant trend-setter for H...