IslamicFinance.de

Commercial Bank of Kuwait has cut its stake in Boubyan Bank down by 2,2 %.
The data showed that the stake dropped to 17.7 %.
Trade in Boubyan shares has lately been extremely heavy, with more than 94 million shares, changing hands and the stock price was up 1.25 % at 0.405 dinar. The identity of the buyer of CBK's holding in Boubyan was not clear.

Kuwaiti firm Investment Dar is making a renewed legal push to secure ownership of a major asset at the centre of its long-running restructuring process. The case is a rare test of Kuwait's Financial Stability Law, introduced in 2009 to assist debt renegotiations. The firm has been embroiled in litigation over a stake in Kuwait's Boubyan Bank, which it sold to Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) in 2008, with the right to buy it back. CBK currently holds a 19.9 percent stake in Boubyan. Investment Dar hopes to sell the stake to repay creditors. For its part, CBK said last week it cancelled a proposed 120 million dinar capital-boosting bond due to "legislative and technical issues".

Commercial Bank of Kuwait ( CBK ) was granted permission by the Central Bank of Kuwait to issue KWD 120 million (USD 425 million) in Basel III-compliant bonds, which could complicate the process of CBK converting into an Islamic bank. CBK has had to write off loans that have significantly impacted its profitability and may be the reason the bank needs to issue capital-raising bonds. However, issuing capital raising bonds may complicate the conversion process since Basel requirements place limitations on the call provisions included in bonds issued to raise capital. The bank will continue to have an interest-bearing liability for five years, which is much longer than the typical period for a conventional bank that has converted to an Islamic bank.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait has received regulatory approval to issue up to 120 million dinars ($425.8 million) of bonds, as it prepares to convert into an Islamic bank. In April, CBK shareholders approved both the issuance of the subordinated bonds and plans to convert the lender into a full-fledged Islamic bank. The bonds will comply with Basel-III rules. While CBK said its conversion would not be immediate, it would leave Kuwait with only four local conventional banks and could help tip the Islamic banking industry’s market share above an estimated 40 per cent. CBK is not the first to convert into an Islamic bank, with Boubyan and Al Ahli having done so previously.

Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz Al-Sabah, governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, chairman of the board of directors of the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies (IBS), noted that the Kuwait IBS will work with Harvard Business School for the third year in a row to offer an executive education program for banking and finance executives in the GCC (gulf Cooperation Council) region.
Al-Sabah underlined the fact that the program is one of the strategic developmental projects the banking sector is following, conducted by the Central Bank of Kuwait, organized by the IBS and financed by the IBS member banks - Central Bank of Kuwait, National Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Burgan Bank, Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Ahli United Bank, Kuwait International Bank, Industrial Bank of Kuwait and Boubyan Bank.

Press Release

Various Kuwaiti Banks Placed On CreditWatch Negative On Large Exposure To Investment Companies

LONDON (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 16, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it placed its 'A-' long-term counterparty credit ratings on Kuwait Finance House and Commercial Bank of Kuwait on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, the 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit ratings on these banks were affirmed. Furthermore, Standard & Poor's placed its 'BBB+/A-2' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait and Burgan Bank on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, Standard & Poor's commented on its CreditWatch placement of Kuwait-based Gulf Bank. The 'A-/A-2' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Gulf Bank remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on Oct. 27, 2008.