Banks to resume lending to the real sector

Banks will shortly resume lending to the real sector, a Tengrinews.kz journalist reports. When speaking at a national business forum today, Kazakhstan PM Karim Massimov announced that domestic banks would be able to resume lending to the real sector. According to him, this will be possible after the Government and financial institutions have taken efforts to bolster banks’ turnaround. “We need to rely on best foreign practices, recommendations of international organizations to have banks start lending to the real sector… Banks will be able to finance construction sector, taking into account all the lessons taught during the crisis and after”, the Prime Minister said. Mr. Massimov announced that state-run programs to stimulate employment and housing construction would be launched as early as this week. Speaking at the Nur Otan party congress on Friday, February 11th, President Nazarbayev instructed the Government to think of mechanisms to support housing construction, including through greater use of housing construction savings schemes and state’s deposits with banks to finance housing construction programs.