Kuwait Parliament okays consumer loan bailout bill

A bill that would force the Kuwaiti government to buy all KD6.7bn ($23.3bn) of consumer loans has been approved by the country's parliament, Bloomberg has reported. The plan, which the government opposes, also includes writing off the interest and rescheduling the payments over a maximum of 15 years. "The bill includes drawbacks that threaten the stability of Kuwait's banking system as it encourages disrespect of contracts which would result in destabilizing financial transactions," Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shimali told parliament before the vote.