Share of banking services offered by foreign banks shouldn’t exceed 30%: President Nazarbayev

Financial services provided by Kazakhstan-based subsidiaries of foreign banks shouldn’t exceed 30% of overall financial services, Newskaz.ru reports, citing President Nursultan Nazarbayev as saying June 22 at a sitting on entrepreneurship development held in Astana. “The share of banking services offered by foreign banks in Kazakhstan shouldn’t exceed 30%. It is of great importance to make sure the figure doesn’t exceed that”, President Nazarbayev said. “The Government and the National Bank should take into consideration that local banks not always enjoy the same competitive advantage as foreign ones (…) If a Kazakhstan-based subsidiary of a foreign bank is supported by its country of origin, that is its mother bank, there should be conditions put in place enabling local banks to compete with subsidiaries of foreign banks”, President elaborated. At the same meeting Ms. Umit Shayakhmetova, the Chairwoman of the Halyk Bank Board, said that the Central Bank’s requirements to banks in Kazakhstan are tougher than those of the Russia’s Central Bank to Russian banks. According to her, because of this Kazakh banks will be less competitive than Russian ones upon accession into the Single Economic Space [of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus] and the WTO. “We would want the regulations harmonized within reasonably shortest time”, she said.

Financial services provided by Kazakhstan-based subsidiaries of foreign banks shouldn’t exceed 30% of overall financial services, Newskaz.ru reports, citing President Nursultan Nazarbayev as saying June 22 at a sitting on entrepreneurship development held in Astana. “The share of banking services offered by foreign banks in Kazakhstan shouldn’t exceed 30%. It is of great importance to make sure the figure doesn’t exceed that”, President Nazarbayev said. “The Government and the National Bank should take into consideration that local banks not always enjoy the same competitive advantage as foreign ones (…) If a Kazakhstan-based subsidiary of a foreign bank is supported by its country of origin, that is its mother bank, there should be conditions put in place enabling local banks to compete with subsidiaries of foreign banks”, President elaborated. At the same meeting Ms. Umit Shayakhmetova, the Chairwoman of the Halyk Bank Board, said that the Central Bank’s requirements to banks in Kazakhstan are tougher than those of the Russia’s Central Bank to Russian banks. According to her, because of this Kazakh banks will be less competitive than Russian ones upon accession into the Single Economic Space [of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus] and the WTO. “We would want the regulations harmonized within reasonably shortest time”, she said.

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