Kuwait Finance House shows strong growth in core banking activities

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) held its analytical conference on the Group’s performance and results for the period through the end of the third quarter of 2026, with the participation of Group Chief Financial Officer Abdul Karim Al-Samidan and Acting Head of International Banking and Group Strategy Engineer Fahad Khalid Al-Muhaizim.

Group CFO Abdul Karim Al-Samidan stated that the financial performance of the Kuwait Finance House Group through the third quarter of 2026 demonstrated strong growth in its core banking activities. He highlighted key financial indicators, noting that the results for the first nine months reflected an improvement in the operating profit base, supported by growth in financing revenues and fees, alongside lower expenses. Net operating income rose by 11.7% year-on-year to approximately 1 billion Kuwaiti dinars, while the cost-to-income ratio stood at 30.8%. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 6.2% to 523.4 million Kuwaiti dinars.

The financing portfolio grew by 7.5% compared to the end of the previous year, reflecting the continued deployment of liquidity to finance customers. Al-Samidan noted that the Group benefits from the geographic diversification of its operations, with international activities accounting for approximately 38.6% of the Group’s financing and 49.6% of its deposits as of the end of September.

Al-Samidan emphasized that the spread between revenue growth and expense growth was positive compared to the same nine-month period last year. Operating revenues increased by 6.7%, while expenses decreased by 3.0% to 447.5 million Kuwaiti dinars. Consequently, the cost-to-income ratio improved by 3.1 percentage points to reach 30.8%.

He further clarified that the balance of regulatory provisions remained higher than the balance of expected credit losses in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9). Against expected credit losses of 549.8 million Kuwaiti dinars, the provision balance under Central Bank of Kuwait directives stood at 1,049.7 million Kuwaiti dinars, resulting in a provision margin of 499.9 million Kuwaiti dinars.

Regarding liquidity indicators, Al-Samidan noted that they remained comfortably above current regulatory minimums as of September. The liquidity coverage ratio reached 137.0%, and the net stable funding ratio stood at 120.7%, both exceeding the 80% minimum requirement. The financing-to-deposit ratio in Kuwait was 84.3%, below the 100% maximum limit.

Capital adequacy ratios were reported as follows: Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 13.2%, Tier 1 capital ratio at 15.4%, and total capital adequacy ratio at 17.2%. These figures exceeded the corresponding current requirements of 10.5%, 12.0%, and 14.0%, respectively.