DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund says it has no plans to sell off the stakes it took in Citigroup and Merrill Lynch because it has faith in the U.S. banks’ long-term potential.

In a statement printed in Kuwaiti newspapers Sunday, the Kuwait Investment Authority also said it believes the current economic crisis “will pass with time” due to the actions of central banks.

The KIA invested $3 billion into Citigroup and $2 billion into Merrill Lynch in January last year at a time when both banks were needed cash following losses stemming from the credit crisis.

Merrill was later bought by Bank of America, making the KIA a big shareholder in that company.