The Emiri Decree issued on 12/07/1970, a year after establishing the Central Bank of Kuwait, announced the establishment of the “Center for Banking Studies”, as a culmination and response to this need. With the growth of the center’s activity and the increase in the banking sector’s manpower requirements, another Emiri decree was issued on 12/07/1982, to establish the “Institute of Banking Studies”. The IBS has since provided advanced professional services to help raise the levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the banking sector in particular and the financial sector in general.  The Institute provides a set of professional, specialized, and educational training services, and strengthens the decision-making process at various administrative levels in local banks, by carrying out research and consultancy related to banking.

The IBS performs its duties under the supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait through a board of directors, headed by the Governor of the Central Bank. Its members include the chairmen or general managers from the banks contributing to its balance sheet and a representative of Kuwait University.

With over 50 years of experience working closely with the banking and financial sector of Kuwait, the IBS has been instrumental in the process of transferring know-how and new ideas to this vital sector. It has diversified its product offerings to include professional certification programs, executive development programs, training and development courses in various major areas, assessment and testing, English language training, e-learning, and business and finance research publications.

The IBS sees itself as a provider of solutions, assisting its clients to develop their staff and, in turn, their businesses.  

The Institute has also managed to create an international and regional network of distinguished faculty members, who combine high academic qualifications with practical experience.  It has established global relationships for long-term cooperation with high-level professional institutions such as the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, the Chartered Institute of Professional Managers, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Professional Risk Managers International Association, and the Federation of Financial Markets.  

The Institute of Banking Studies has a strategic partnership with Harvard Business School in the United States of America, INSEAD College in Paris, the Franklin Covey Leadership Foundation, and the University of Cambridge. 

The professional certificates offered by the institute are accredited for content and quality, by the Trusted Partner, “London Institute of Banking and Finance” (LIBF) in the United Kingdom, which is one of the oldest educational institutions in the world, specialized in banking and financial services, and the only one in the United Kingdom that has the power to grant Degrees for professional certificate programs by the UK Private Council.