KIB wins IFN’s “Regulatory Deal of the Year 2025” award for its USD 300 million sustainable Sukuk issuance

Kuwait International Bank (KIB) announced that it has won the “Regulatory Deal of the Year 2025” award for its USD 300 million sustainable Sukuk, issued last year as part of its Tier 2 capital.

This recognition from the globally renowned Islamic Finance News (IFN) highlights the exceptional success of the issuance, which was recognized as the first of its kind for sustainable Sukuk issued by a Kuwaiti institution. These Sukuk also achieved remarkable success by recording the highest oversubscription rate of an issuance by a financial institution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during 2025.

IFN commended KIB for its successful issuance of innovative Tier 2 Sukuk that integrated international Basel III standards with the Shari’ah standards. It noted that the transaction featured a comprehensive upgrade to the Sukuk program, making it among the first in Kuwait to keep pace with modern developments in Shari’ah-compliant standards. The significance of this development lies in enabling the Bank to attract investors from UAE banks, as well as other financial institutions.

The “Regulatory Deal of the Year” award is a distinguished subcategory of the “Deals of the Year” awards, recognizing transactions of exceptional regulatory significance, including those that establish precedents in regulatory compliance, demonstrate success in navigating complex regulatory environments, or serve as leading regulatory benchmarks in the global Islamic finance industry.

KIB was selected for this award by a panel of independent experts following a rigorous assessment of the transaction’s impact, complexity, and level of innovation. The evaluation also considered the deal’s market significance within the regulatory frameworks governing Islamic finance markets.

The Sukuk attracted record demand, with an oversubscribed order book that peaked at more than seven times, reaching USD 2.1 billion. The Sukuk were priced at 175 basis points above US Treasury yields. This pricing marked the tightest spread ever achieved on a Tier 2 capital Sukuk and represented a major achievement for the Bank, reflecting strong investor confidence in KIB’s performance and strategic direction, while further reinforcing KIB’s strong position and reputation in regional and global markets.

Commenting on the occasion, Mohammed Al-Duwailah, General Manager of Treasury Department at KIB, said that winning IFN’s “Regulatory Deal of the Year 2025” award reflected the Bank’s strong capital management strategy and its innovation in Islamic finance instruments. He emphasized that achieving a record pricing margin demonstrated the Bank’s ability to meet global regulatory standards and maintain a strong liquidity structure. This strengthens the Bank’s capacity to serve its customers and respond effectively to changing market conditions. Al-Duwailah added that the Sukuk, which are structured under a Wakala framework, complied fully with Basel III capital adequacy standards.

On her part, Ma’ab Al-Qassem, General Manager of the International Banking and Financial Institutions Department at KIB, said that this prestigious award recognized the Bank’s ongoing efforts to deliver innovative financial solutions aligned with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. She highlighted that these efforts supported the transition toward a green and sustainable economy.

Al-Qassem added that strong investor demand, with 64 percent of the issuance allocated to investors from the MENA region, reflected the Bank’s commitment to expanding its international partner base. She also said it strengthened Kuwait’s position as an attractive destination for international investment, emphasizing that this approach was fully aligned with the Bank’s strategic vision to reinforce its role as a key player in the banking sector.

The KIB Sukuk issuance received a BBB+ credit rating from the global ratings agency Fitch and was listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was managed in collaboration with a consortium of leading international and local financial institutions. These included Citigroup and Standard Chartered as joint global coordinators, along with ASB Capital, Arqaam Capital, HSBC, Kamco Invest, KFH Capital, KIB Invest, and QNB Capital as joint lead managers and bookrunners.

KIB continues to deliver strong results and maintain a solid financial position, building on its long history since its establishment in 1973, and reinforcing its position as one of the leading Islamic banks in the region.

It is worth noting that IFN provides exclusive and comprehensive coverage of global Islamic capital markets through in house analysis and contributions from external experts. This is complemented by a daily news service, quarterly supplements, and special annual publications. Since its launch in 2004, IFN has built a strong reputation based on trusted relationships within the industry. These relationships have enabled the publication to develop an unparalleled network that delivers deep insights into the key issues shaping Shari’ah compliant markets.

IFN’s archive includes more than 80,000 exclusive reports, along with a suite of advanced tools. These include the industry’s largest interactive glossary, a directory of more than 9,000 Islamic financial institutions worldwide, and the Islamic Banking Intelligence portal, which is regarded as the most comprehensive source of classified Islamic banking financial data.