Ahli United Bank established in May 2000 following a merger between The United Bank of Kuwait and Al-Ahli Commercial Bank, and it is licensed by the
Central Bank of Bahrain under a
retail banking license. Following the merger, both entities became fully owned subsidiaries of Ahli United Bank.
Kuwait Finance House initiated discussions about a possible merger with Ahli United Bank in July 2017. However, the deal encountered delays, with the
Central Bank of Kuwait requesting a reassessment in March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Kuwait Finance House's completed its acquisition of Ahli United Bank for $11.6 billion. The acquisition created a lender with approximately $121 billion in assets. ==Operations==