National Bank of Kuwait SAKP is targeting expansion in the Middle East's biggest markets, with the aim of hiring hundreds of bankers and establishing more branches in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, CEO Isam Al-Sager told Bloomberg News.
Al-Sager said Dec. 17 in Cairo that the Kuwaiti lender has received "required approvals" to launch two more branches in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2018, while Egyptian unit National Bank of Kuwait - Egypt SAE is planning to up its branch count from 43 to 60 by 2020, including four or five to open in 2018. George Richani, CEO of National Bank of Kuwait's international banking group, said in a separate interview that the bank is also considering establishing branches in India and Germany.
Al-Sager also said the bank's Islamic unit, Boubyan Bank KSCP, will continue to grow ahead of the overall market growth in Kuwait and will make an increasing contribution to group earnings.
National Bank of Kuwait also has no immediate plans to sell bonds as the lender is "more liquid today" that it was when it raised $750 million in May under a $3 billion program, according to Al-Sager. However, he added that the bank will return to the market should a good opportunity come along.
