Foreigner Trying to Get a Car Loan - The Outcome

Here was my main problem:

If your company utilizes the service of one bank  (to consolidate their banking services/fees), that bank will then transfer salaries into employee accounts (at various banks).  For this reason, your incoming salary on bank statements will appear as a “transfer” (or "hawlat maleeah" in Arabic transliteration) rather than “salary”.

The Central Bank of Kuwait has passed a law stating that your bank can not provide credit with this verbiage on an employee’s bank statement.  This law was probably enstated to combat money laundering and to ensure that banks are repaid their loans.

This issue will cause difficulty in your obtaining loans or credit through your bank; as the bank is not allowed – by law – to give you credit if the statement does not say “salary”.  Even if the company name, and salary amount matches your salary certificate issued by your employer.  Even if you have just obtained your bank statement from the same bank.

Not all bank representatives will understand this law - or know about it.  So, you can sit with someone for several hours and they can try to find a solution (or wastah) and you still won't be able to get the loan.

I wish someone at my company would have told me this in advance, so that I wouldn't have had to waste the time, stress, frustration, and humiliation.  That might have been nice.  I'm sure that other employees at other companies in Kuwait are facing the same difficulties.

The CBK law does not apply to finance companies like Commercial Facilities, Al Manar, Al Soor, etc.

I got a loan in a day from Al Soor and they were extremely kind (although I hated having to sit in an office where everyone is allowed to smoke).  They asked that my employer provide a letter stating that they use one consolidated bank (X) and then transfer my salary to KFH.  No co-signer.  No hassles.

Al Soor (or any finance company) will ask you to go to your bank and have a standing order signed so that they can automatically debit your account for the loan payments.  (In my case, it took KFH an hour and a half to sign it because.... nevermind...)

Outcome:  I got my baby, Mashallah.  (Looks like this.)

And by the way, just incase anyone is interested:  Alghanim has a 2013 Hennessey, HPE700 HP (Corvette engine), Camaro with a manual transmission in dark gray, at the dirt-cheap price of only 27,000KD.