“Let’s Own Tomorrow”: A Bold Vision For An Innovative Future

The bank’s new identity and slogan, “Let’s Own Tomorrow,” reflect Warba’s commitment to providing comprehensive financial solutions that serve a diverse customer base, from individuals and entrepreneurs to investors and large corporations. This identity embodies the bank’s evolution over the years, marked by a transformative shift in digital services that enhances the customer experience and positions Warba as a trusted partner.

Al Sunbula Account 2025: Unique Opportunities And Exceptional Benefits

Warba Bank launched the Al Sunbula Account 2025 Campaign, making it the largest prize account of its kind in Kuwait in terms of both the number of winners and the total prize value distributed. The account offers weekly draws, where 20 customers each win 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars, in addition to six grand prize draws throughout the year, each awarding a lucky winner with 250,000 Kuwaiti dinars.

Royal Banking: Exclusive Banking Services For Premium Customers

To provide a tailored banking experience, the bank introduced Royal Banking, offering a niche account and services to high-net-worth customers. These customers benefit from a dedicated relationship manager who serves their individual needs, as well as advanced digital services and exclusive banking lounges across multiple branches, ensuring they always receive a premium banking experience.

Digital Transformation: Innovation In Customer Service

Warba Bank became the first bank in Kuwait to introduce an AI-powered personal financial advisor, the “Warba Advisor.” This service provides customers with personalised financial advice, leveraging data analysis and machine learning to help them make informed decisions. Additionally, Warba introduced Beyond for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), offering them comprehensive banking solutions, including multi-currency accounts, a payment gateway, and point-of-sale (POS) devices.

Green Financing And Sustainability

Warba Bank issued $500 million in green sustainable Sukuk, becoming the first Islamic bank in Kuwait to launch this type of Sukuk. The funds are directed toward financing eco-friendly projects that support the green economy and sustainable development.

Gold Account: Flexible Investment Options

The bank recently introduced new features to the Gold Account, allowing customers to track historical price changes and make informed investment decisions through the Warba app, which offers a reliable and advanced investment tool.

Global Recognition For Excellence

Warba Bank has earned numerous international awards, including “Most Sustainable Bank in Kuwait 2024,” “Best Islamic Digital Banking Services,” and the “Highest Growth in Credit Card Activation on Digital Wallets” from Mastercard.

Social Responsibility: Investing In The Community

Warba Bank prioritises youth empowerment through initiatives like the Rowad programme, while also supporting environmental sustainability programmes such as carbon footprint reduction, health awareness campaigns, and financial literacy education.

A Promising Vision For 2025

As Warba Bank enters a new phase of growth and expansion, it remains committed to enhancing its investments in technology and digital banking services, in line with its ambitious vision for a brighter future.

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The Ministry of Finance and National Economy reports that non-oil sectors accounted for 86.4% of real gross domestic product during the period, growing by 3.9%.

The information and communication sector, which grew 11.9% annually thanks to higher mobile and internet subscribers, was one of the major contributors.

Driven by further economic diversification, Bahrain’s third-quarter growth reflects favourable trends throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Qatar’s GDP increasing by 2% and Saudi Arabia’s by 2.8%.

Despite these improvements, Bahrain’s economy was beset by difficulties in the oil sector, where operations shrank by 8.1% annually, which led to a 0.9% drop in nominal GDP.

The non-oil industries, on the other hand, did well. The nation’s insurance and financial sectors grew by 5.8%, while electronic payments transfers rose by 13.7% annually.

Higher production at the Bapco Refinery helped manufacturing grow by 4.2%, while a notable increase in e-commerce transactions supported wholesale and retail trade’s 2.1% growth.

On the other hand, the oil industry had challenges as a result of the Abu Sa’afa field’s maintenance operations and the drop in oil prices worldwide. As a result, oil activity decreased by 8.1% in real terms year over year, while the average daily oil production from the Abu Sa’afa field decreased by 11.5%.

The outcomes of trade and investment operations were likewise not entirely consistent. Due in significant part to a 19.2% drop in the value of oil exports, the current account surplus shrank by 54.5% year over year to 148.6 million Bahraini dinars (USD 394.2 million).

However, non-oil exports grew by a moderate 1.1%, with base metals and mineral goods accounting for the majority of the growth. The stock of foreign direct investment rose by 3.5% annually to 16.5 billion dinars. With 67.3% of all foreign direct investments, the finance and insurance industry continued to be the largest contributor.

Throughout the quarter, development projects in a number of areas kept moving forward. The largest capital investment in Bapco’s history, the Bapco Modernisation Programme, increased refinery capacity by 42% when it was finished in December.

Bahrain’s hospitality options were improved in the tourism sector with the opening of the “Hawar Resort by Mantis” and four additional five-star hotels. A new rehabilitation facility was built at Al Jasra for the healthcare industry, and Bahrain’s Industrial Strategy included the establishment of the Aluminium Downstream Industries Zone.

Financial and monetary indicators showed encouraging patterns. With the help of a 15.6% rise in government deposits, the broad money supply grew by 6.1 percent annually. Personal loans accounted for about half of the total loans offered by retail banks, which increased by 4.9% annually. The number of Bahrainis working in the public and private sectors increased by 1.7%, to 153,842, according to the labour market.

Over 13,679 Bahrainis were trained, and the Economic Recovery Plan’s recruitment goal for 2024 was achieved at 98%.

With the Bahrain All Share Index ending the third quarter at 2,012.77 points, up 3.8% year over year, Bahrain’s capital markets also did well. With a 10.1% increase, the Bahrain Islamic Index showed even more robust growth. The market capitalisation reached 7.8 billion dinars, a 2.4% gain.

According to the Economic Freedom of the World study, Bahrain’s economy ranked 34th globally, maintaining its status as the freest in the Arab world. In the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, the country also rose eight spots to 30th place, demonstrating notable advancements in the use and adoption of digital technology.

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On the other hand, Islamic banks will almost certainly be able to keep a large portion of the market thanks to the robust public demand for Islamic products and the favourable regulatory environment for Islamic financing.

According to the rating agency, the financial metrics of Islamic banks were “resilient” in the first half of 2023, benefitting from the stable operating environment. This was the case since the banks were able to continue their normal business operations.

The sector’s assets increased by 25% year on year (YoY), spurred by the merger of Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank, which resulted in the creation of one of the largest Islamic banks in the world when it was completed in 2017.

Due to the merger, the proportion of total banking assets held by Islamic banks climbed to 50% by the end of the first half of 2023.

Despite Fitch’s projections for real GDP growth of -0.3% in 2023 and 3.6% in 2024, as well as lower real non-oil GDP growth, the stable operating environment in Kuwait will maintain Islamic banks’ standalone credit profiles in 2023, according to Fitch.

Meanwhile, During the first eight months of 2023, local banks in Kuwait provided significantly less financing to the public services sector, with a sharp decrease of 68.8%, totalling 48 million dinars, as per a report from the Arab Times.

The latest ratio also marked a substantial drop from 69.7 million dinars during the same period in 2022.

Notably, in August 2023, financing for the public services sector was only about 100 thousand dinars, while there was no such financing provided by local banks in July.

The decline in funding to the services sector also coincided with a broader drop in new credit facilities provided to all sectors, falling by approximately 93.1 million dinars, or 0.6%, from 15.76 billion dinars in the first eight months of 2022 to 15.669 billion dinars during the same period in 2023.

There was an increase in total credit facilities for all sectors during August 2023, surging by 3.2% or roughly 63.6 million dinars compared to July, reaching 2.012 billion dinars.

“In comparison to August 2022, this is a considerable increase from 1.354 billion dinars. The cumulative balance of financing provided by local banks to the public services sector experienced notable growth, rising by 11.8% or 33.8 million dinars since the start of 2023, amounting to 319.3 million dinars in August. On a monthly basis, this represents an 11.7% increase of 33.6 million dinars compared to July,” the Arab Times report stated further.

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According to the most recent data, the nation had a surplus of 6.4 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($20.86 billion) at the end of its fiscal year on March 31.

Over the course of a year, Kuwait brought in 28.8 billion dinars, a 54.7 per cent increase over the previous year.

Oil revenue increased by 64.7% over the previous year, accounting for nearly 93% of the government’s total income of 26.71 billion dinars. Throughout the fiscal year, the average price of oil was $97.1 a barrel.

According to the ministry, total spending was 22.37 billion dinars, which is 2.6 per cent less than it was a year earlier.

According to Kuwait’s Minister of Oil Saad Hamad Nasser Al-Barrak, “Kuwait enjoys a strong financial position, considerable reserves, and monetary and financial stability, all of which insulate us from the short-term repercussions of oil market swings.”

The minister made his remarks only a few weeks after promising to invest more than $300 billion in the nation’s energy sector by 2040.

According to figures from the ministry, the emirate’s daily production rate for the fiscal year that ended on March 31 reached 2.693 million barrels, or almost 7% of the world’s reserves.

Its budget has consistently had deficits since the collapse of oil prices in 2014. However, Kuwait experienced a recovery as a result of the rise in oil prices following the conflict in Ukraine.

According to a local newspaper earlier this month, which cited a member of parliament, the country’s draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year predicted a deficit of 6.8 billion dinars due to reduced oil prices and volumes.

According to a report from Al-Dustor posted by the parliament’s Twitter account and citing MP Osama Al-Zaid, the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1 projected oil revenue of 17 billion dinars, down 19.5% from 2022-2023.

According to Al-Zaid, the draft budget was based on an oil price of $70 per barrel.

Despite moving more slowly than its Gulf neighbours in terms of diversifying its sources of income, Kuwait has cooperated with production cuts mandated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia.

Fiscal reform in the OPEC member state has been impeded for years by disputes between successive appointed governments and elected parliaments, including a debt law that would enable Kuwait to access international markets and reduce its heavy reliance on oil, according to Reuters.

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