Kuwait Finance House, one of the largest banks in the country, has reported a 42 per cent fall in profits in the second quarter, to KD22.8m ($82.3m) compared with KD39.9m in the same period of last year.

In a statement issued by the bank, it did not disclose the reasons for the dramatic decline in profits, but did say the profits reflected a “conservative policy that aims to reinforce precautionary provisions”. The bank also reported a substantial drop in profits in the first quarter of the year

KFH also said that net income in the first half of the year was KD45.5m.