Kuwait: Further M&A Expected

Kuwait's banking sector crisis is ongoing despite the government's bail-out, fiscal stimulus and its sovereign wealth fund agreeing to provide liquidity to banks. The National Bank of Kuwait has fully reimbursed all its clients who lost money in the alleged Ponzi scheme run by New York broker Bernard Madoff, paying out US$50mn to around 20 individuals. The government has also been spending generously to support the banking sector, guaranteeing local bank deposits, and rescuing Gulf Bank, which had been hit by losses from trading in currency derivatives.

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