Kazakhstan to take over major banks
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 03, 2009 00:00
ALMATY - Kazakhstan is on the verge of nationalizing two major lenders as the banking crisis in Central Asia's largest economy continues to worsen, government officials said yesterday.
The government has unveiled plans to acquire a 78-percent share in Kazakhstan's biggest lender, BTA Bank, as it struggles to meet capital adequacy requirements.
Although the $2.1 billion purchase will give the state total control over the lender, which has assets of $30.6 billion, authorities in the former Soviet republic are keen to diminish concern.
"This measure does not constitute nationalization, it is designed to ensure the smooth functioning of the bank," said Yelena Bakhmutova, head of the national financial services regulator. Bakhmutova also said the regulator has dismissed BTA Bank's chairman, Mukhtar Ablyazov, from his post.
The decision prompted Ablyazov, a former opposition politician, to accuse the government of conducting a sustained campaign to gain control over BTA Bank by "dubious methods."
"The actions taken toward BTA Bank ... are arbitrary and state theft," Ablyazov said in a statement. "The government's actions are a sign of the economic incompetence and the political shortsightedness of officials."
The Kazakhstan Today news agency cited the deputy chairman of the Samruk-Kazyna state holding company, which allocates government money for investments, as saying talks are under way with Russia's state-owned Sberbank over sale of a stake in BTA Bank.
Although the $2.1 billion purchase will give the state total control over the lender, which has assets of $30.6 billion, authorities in the former Soviet republic are keen to diminish concern.
"This measure does not constitute nationalization, it is designed to ensure the smooth functioning of the bank," said Yelena Bakhmutova, head of the national financial services regulator. Bakhmutova also said the regulator has dismissed BTA Bank's chairman, Mukhtar Ablyazov, from his post.
The decision prompted Ablyazov, a former opposition politician, to accuse the government of conducting a sustained campaign to gain control over BTA Bank by "dubious methods."
"The actions taken toward BTA Bank ... are arbitrary and state theft," Ablyazov said in a statement. "The government's actions are a sign of the economic incompetence and the political shortsightedness of officials."
The Kazakhstan Today news agency cited the deputy chairman of the Samruk-Kazyna state holding company, which allocates government money for investments, as saying talks are under way with Russia's state-owned Sberbank over sale of a stake in BTA Bank.