One year after the formation of the Central Bank of Kuwait, an Emiri Decree issued on December 7, 1970 announced the establishment of the Center for Banking Studies. With the growth of the Center’s activity and increase in the banking sector’s manpower requirements, a second decree was issued on December 7, 1982 to establish the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies (KIBS). KIBS 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.  Apart from offering a set of professional and specialized training services, KIBS also provides research and consultancy services related to banking.

KIBS 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 banks’ chairpersons or general managers and a representative from Kuwait University.

With over 50 years of experience working closely with the banking and financial realm in Kuwait, KIBS has been instrumental in the process of transferring knowledge to the 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 banking and financial research publications.

In addition to being a solutions provider that assists its clients to develop their staff and in turn, their businesses, KIBS created an international and regional network of distinguished faculty members who combine high academic qualifications with practical experience, an element that has propelled KIBS into establishing global relationships with high-level professional institutions such as

Harvard Business School in the United States, 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 its trusted partner, London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) in the United Kingdom, which is one of the oldest and leading educational institutions in the world that is specialized in banking and financial services. The LIBF is also the only entity in the UK that has the power to grant degrees for professional certificate programs by the UK Private Council.