CBK’s Governor best in Middle East for 2019: Banker magazine

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Kuwaiti banks enjoy high rates of capitalization and profitability largely due to Dr Al-Hashil’s efforts

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 5, (KUNA): The Banker magazine, which specializes in financial and banking information, has elected the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Governor Dr Mohammad Al-Hashil as the best central bank governor in the Middle East for 2019.

The magazine published on its website Saturday its list of best central bankers around the world, with Croatian Boris Vujic as the European best. Mexican Central Bank Governor Alejandro Diaz has been chosen as the best in the Americas and Malaysia’s Noor Shamsia was the best in Asia and the Pacific, and Morocco’s Abdullatif Al-Gohari was the best in Africa.

“He is a rising star in the region as he took office in 2012 at the age of 37 and since then has managed the country’s financial sector and successfully navigated it to overcome a wide range of volatility and challenges that followed the crisis,” the magazine said on Al-Hashil.

“Al-Hashil has succeeded in taking care of one of the strongest banking sectors in the world. Today, Kuwaiti banks enjoy high rates of capitalization and profitability and are proud of the outstanding quality of their assets.

This is largely due to Dr Al-Hashil’s efforts to enhance the overall stability of the financial system,” it added. It noted that under the guidance of Al-Hashil, the CBK improved its capital adequacy ratio to Kuwaiti banks at an average of 18.3 percent at the beginning of 2018.

Furthermore, additional capital requirements were set for banks of systemic interest, while other financial safety indicators, Global standard. The International Monetary Fund noted that the regulatory requirements in terms of costs and profits are estimated by the CBK and are periodically reassessed to increase flexibility and robustness in an efficient and rational manner.
The magazine pointed to Kuwait’s growth as a center for Islamic finance, with Islamic financial assets accounting for 40 percent of the domestic banking sector, noting that the CBK launched in November 2018 the experimental regulatory environment to provide a secure environment for testing the innovations of modern financial technologies and services related to electronic payment systems.

This experimental control environment operates on four levels as the applications of financial techniques are first developed and evaluated by the Central Bank in terms of technical safety and then conform to the instructions and controls, the magazine said. The Banker is one of the oldest banking information centers established in 1926 and since then it has provided coverage, information, studies and reports on the banking sector with a 91-year-old credibility.

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