Dark clouds expected to start lifting. (Getty Images)First-quarter profits at Kuwaiti banks are expected to decline year on year, but improve from losses in the prior three months even as a global recession hits, analysts said on Sunday.
Shares in the OPEC producer’s banks have risen since it approved a $5 billion stimulus aimed at helping the financial sector, mainly by giving state guarantees for new loans. It also allows the state to buy into banks unable to raise fresh funds.
Analysts said the worst appeared to be over for now at Kuwaiti banks after several major players, such as Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK), plunged into the red in the fourth quarter after taking provisions.
Banks’ first-quarter profits would fall on average 30-35 percent from the year ago period, but that might still boost shares, said Naser al-Nafisi, general manager at the al-Joman Center for Economic Consultancy.
