الرئيسة التنفيذية للبنك التجاري الكويتي لـ CNBC عربية: نركز على السوق المحلي الكويتي على الرغم من المنافسة الشديدة

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Watch الرئيسة التنفيذية للبنك التجاري الكويتي لـ CNBC عربية: نركز على السوق المحلي الكويتي على الرغم من المنافسة الشديدة - CNBCArabia on Dailymotion

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00:00The main function of the bank is to focus on the local market.

00:03For us, the local market is the stage of lending to individuals and companies

00:08in all sectors of the company,

00:10whether it's in construction and construction, oil, services, and even trading.

00:18The same thing we did in the past years,

00:22we didn't open foreign branches,

00:23we did the same thing in Kuwait.

00:27But this is a challenge.

00:28It's a challenge because, as you know,

00:30in order to grow in the same situation we are in as a country,

00:34with the existing competition,

00:35we are 10 banks, as you know, 5 Islamic and 5 non-Islamic,

00:39so the competition itself is not easy.

00:41But I tried to keep a clean portfolio,

00:44because I also have NPL zero,

00:46which is the interest-free loans, which must be zero.

00:48So, therefore...

00:49You also worked a lot during the previous years,

00:53especially in 2000 and after 2009,

00:55because of the crisis with investment companies.

00:57In 2010 and 2011, loans were approved,

01:00and also during the work of the bank,

01:02about 5 or 6 years ago, the same thing was done,

01:04and loans were approved.

01:05Therefore, the portfolio is clean at the moment.

01:08Of course, in the future, there may be unexpected things,

01:11or a client may...

01:11Now, you have zero NPL?

01:13Yes, zero NPL, but you will see,

01:15for every amount that disappears in your budget,

01:18some specialties,

01:19either as a precaution,

01:20or expecting that a client may have something that will happen in the future.

01:25You can consider this part as your speciality,

01:28which is not fair,

01:29which is less than 1%,

01:31but in the end, you take it as a specialty,

01:33so it becomes zero.

01:34But, in terms of precaution, you will take care of yourself for the future.

01:37But this is also another challenge,

01:38which does not explain the size of the growth in profits and distribution.

01:42Yes, of course, focusing on the current clients,

01:45with some selected clients,

01:47which we are very selective,

01:49my portfolio has grown a little,

01:51but within reasonable limits,

01:53and according to your wishes.

01:54Then, the international interest has increased,

01:57as well as the profits and currencies,

01:59and I also have a return for some of the exports that were affected,

02:02which brought us back to a very reasonable amount at the end of the year.

02:07So, last year brought you back to 23%.

02:09That's right.

02:10Even in terms of maintaining and growing trust in Kuwait,

02:14last year, 2023,

02:15the growth of trust was not large and small compared to 2022.

02:20Do we expect this to continue in the year 2024?

02:23Especially that we do not expect the price to be lowered,

02:27as they said, within half a second of the year,

02:29because of the data that was issued at the time of the crisis.

02:32You know, when you said that we will reduce interest rates four times,

02:35we were a little surprised on any basis,

02:37because you saw how the inflation works all over the world,

02:40and in the surrounding countries, even all over the world,

02:42not only in Kuwait,

02:43and some countries affected more than Kuwait, of course,

02:45because the financial situation in Kuwait is strong,

02:47and the banks are in a very strong position.

02:49But when you look at it,

02:50they are talking about one time,

02:52maybe at the end of the year,

02:53but the interest rate will still be at a high level.

02:56I expect that by 2025,

02:57if interest rates start to decrease,

03:00it will not be in the sizes of five or six times,

03:02maybe two or three times,

03:03because there are global situations now,

03:05especially in the region,

03:06and the fear that anything will develop in any war

03:10that can happen in any country,

03:11or Iran's intervention,

03:13or Israel's intervention,

03:14any mistake in the region

03:15can lead to other consequences,

03:17which will make the interest rate not go down,

03:19and other changes will happen,

03:20and other developments.

03:21So the consequences will not be clear

03:23until, of course,

03:25we all do not expect a conflict to happen,

03:27or an expansion,

03:28there will be very big consequences

03:30in terms of the economy,

03:31the supply chain,

03:32the interests,

03:33everything will be affected,

03:34for sure.

03:35And apart from the geopolitical developments here in Kuwait,

03:38there is talk now about the application of the tax,

03:40the tax on companies.

03:41This tax, of course,

03:43is talking about 15%,

03:45meaning it accuses any growth.

03:46Of course, 15% is not a small percentage,

03:49it already takes from the bank,

03:51the interest,

03:53the interest that is paid,

03:54about 4.5%.

03:56So you have the difference of 11.5%,

03:58of course, it is not a small amount,

03:59of course, I agree with you,

04:01because you have to compensate it

04:02from your interests,

04:03so that you can pay

04:04little by little.

04:05The high percentage is 15% at the end.

04:07The bottom line,

04:08it's a cost on you.

04:10Yes.

04:10It also represents a challenge

04:12for the banking sector and all companies.

04:13For all companies and all the banking sector,

04:15because it is a global issue.

04:16We don't have rules about it.

04:19It will be a global law

04:20that applies to all countries.

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