The story
NBK began as small, local bank in 1952. It was the "first indigenous bank and the first shareholding company" in the Gulf region. In 1961, banker Ibrahim Dabdoub joined NBK. He would become head of credit in 1969 and chief executive in 1983, leading NBK through the crash of the Souk Al-Manakh in 1982 and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
By 1992, NBK had operations in London and then Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iraq. By 2014, NBK had offices located in 16 countries, including China and the United States. That same year, Isam Jasem Al-Sager, who originally joined NBK in 1978, became chief executive officer (CEO) and Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar became Deputy Group CEO, having joined the bank in 1977 while Ibrahim Dabdoub retired.
In 2019, NBK began increasing its market share in Egypt. In December 2022, through its partnership with Kuwait Airways (KAC), NBK opened a new branch in KAC's headquarters. In April 2024, NBK's wealth management arm (NBK Wealth) partnered with British-American investment firm Janus Henderson, joining its emerging markets private capital division.
In July 2024, NBK appointed Peter Kelly as Deputy Head of Group Human Resources. In December of that year, NBK acquired a 51% stake in UPayments, an electronic payment and settlement services company in Kuwait. In November 2025, NBK partnered with fintech company AZ eWallet for services including BIN sponsorship, Virtual IBAN, and QR ATM cashless withdrawals and NBK launched its fintech Services. In December that year, NBK launched its mobile banking app.
In January 2026, NBK revamped its online banking platform. In April 2026, it was announced that NBK was shutting down its headquarters in Kuwait and its Sudan branch for two days due to strikes by Iran during the Middle East War.
From Wikipedia’s article on National Bank of Kuwait, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5