Central Bank of Kuwait to appoint independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board

Kuwait’s central bank is working on a draft law which will allow it to appoint an independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board, reported local daily, Arab Times.

In a statement, CBK stated that if the law is amended, all transactions related to Shari’ah will be subject to the Fatwa ruling because what is issued by the authority is considered to be legitimate.

The Shari’ah Supervisory Board will serve to ensure the proper implementation of the standards and the rules issued by them as well as the extent to which they are bound by those provisions in all its activities.

CBK’s approach comes at a time when the debate is still open on the legitimacy of recent amendments of the rules and foundations for granting of loans and personal financing for consumer purposes -- which obliges donors to pay interest in the event of early repayment.