Background

A customer sued the Gulf Bank and the Central Bank of Kuwait because they had breached the provisions of Article 115 of the trade law by changing the amount of the loan as well as its payment date contrary to what had been agreed on the loan contract when he obtained 15,600 Kuwaiti Dinars from the Gulf Bank with variable rate interests and monthly payments of 123 Kuwaiti Dinars for a period of 20 years (from 2003 to 2023).

On 03/01/2011, after considering the expert's report; the court issued a ruling stating that that the bank had no right to alter the rate of interest payable by the customer as agreed in the contract. The bank was requested to keep the amount and the number and period of payments the same as in the loan contract.

The bank appealed the ruling to the appeal court (Case No. 505 in 2011).

On 20/04/2011, Kuwait Appeal Court ruled in favour of the customer by confirming the appealed ruling.