Kuwait says financial sector nearly stable - paper

* Cenbank governor says financial sector more stable than Q4

* Governor says too early to say if financial crisis over

By Eman Goma and Rania El Gamal

KUWAIT, May 9 (Reuters) - Kuwait's financial sector is more stable than in the fourth quarter but it is too early to say whether it has totally overcome the impact of a global crisis, the Gulf Arab state's central bank governor said.

In October, the OPEC member had to step in to save Gulf Bank (GBKK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research), the only major bank in the Gulf Arab region requiring a government bailout, while several major investment firms are struggling to get new loans.

Latest data on liquidity levels and earnings released by local banks are among indicators showing that the global financial crisis is now biting less, Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah told al-Rai newspaper in an interview.

"It might be premature at the current time to assert that the local banking and financial sectors have totally overcame the aftermath... of the global financial and economic crisis," Sheikh Salem told Rai according to a transcript of the interview obtained ahead of publication on Sunday.

"Despite that, I can say that the situation of the banking and financial sectors might be currently closer to stability than... at the start of the fourth quarter of last year."