Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced receiving the central bank’s approval to acquire Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank (AUB) fully.

A KFH disclosure on the Kuwait stock exchange on Wednesday said it had received approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait to acquire 100 percent of the capital shares of Ahli United Bank.

KFH said it would disclose any relevant or required measures regarding the matter immediately to ensure transparency and comply with governing laws and regulations.

KFH was established in 1977 and listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 1984 with an authorized capital of $3.9 billion and provides banking services, buying and selling real estate, and leasing.

Ahli United Bank was established in 2000 and listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2006 with an authorized capital of $3 billion.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of KFH, Hamad al-Marzouq, said that upon completion of the procedures, it would become the most extensive banking entity in Kuwait with a value of nearly $94 billion, and the sixth largest bank in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced that the broad money supply increased by 0.1 in May, reaching $137 billion.

CBK’s economic research department said in a release to KUNA, including statistical tables, that private sector deposits with local banks rose 0.6 percent last May to reach $122 billion.

Private sector deposits in foreign currency increased 0.7 percent to reach $8.6 billion, while total local banks’ claims on CBK represented by CBK bonds settled at $9.9 billion.

Total local banks’ assets rose by 1.2 percent to a record $274 billion, while the net foreign assets increased by 0.3 percent to $18.8 billion.

Time deposits with CBK rose last May by around 4.5 percent to reach $10.8 billion, whereas the balance of utilized cash credit rose by 1.6 percent to reach $147.8 billion.