A maximum interest rate of 6.5 percent annually should not be exceeded on consumer loans and housing installment loans in Kuwait, according to the Central Bank of Kuwait (3.5 percent discount rate, plus a margin of 3.0 percent under the current interest rate structure), reports Al-Qabas daily. As evidenced by surveys conducted by the Central Bank of Kuwait on interest rates applied continuously, the Central Bank stated in response to a question from MP Osama Al-Zaid that this borrowing cost is lower than that of major world countries and countries in the region.

 The Central Bank explained in its statement that the interest rate structure at the level of local bank loan and deposit portfolios, as well as the intervention of the Central Bank of Kuwait, determines the maximum interest rate on loans. Banks are bound to these maximum interest rates without having to have minimum or maximum interest rates on customer deposits in return.

Additionally, if the discount rate increases, banks can increase interest rates on loans within the maximum limits, while the interest rate on deposits may not always increase, which the Central Bank of Kuwait does within the framework of monetary policy operations, by interfering in a way that ensures consistency in the work of the interest rate structure to ensure that dinar deposits are attractive and competitive.