According to The Banker, BTA Bank JSC (Kazakhstan) to be admitted as the leader of Kazakhstan bank system

/KASE, July 3, 2008/ - BTA Bank JSC (Almaty), securities of which are traded in Kazakhstan Stock Exchange's (KASE) category "A" official list, provided KASE with press release of the following content: Quotation start BTA Bank is the biggest bank in Kazakhstan by amount of assets, shareholders equity and net income, according to annual rating 1000 TOP world banks, which is held by international edition "The Banker". It was announced on July 2 in London on international conference "Kazakhstan: new horizons growth", organized by Adam Smith Conferences company. Besides, BTA Bank entered 200 TOP best world banks, taking 173rd place this year, having risen by 122 points compared to previous year. Thus, BTA Bank one after another year enter the rating "year breakthrough'' along with other world banks, which had risen by more than 100 points in a year. Adam Smith Conferences, organizer of most prestigious forums in Western Europe, invited the chairman of directors` Board of BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov for exclusive meeting with huge western companies and leading business editions. "10 years ago under conditions of low trust to banks, there was objective for BTA - to take one of the leading positions on Kazakhstan market. We did it. During last 10 years bank's assets increased by 225 times and capital - 463 times. Thus, as of January 1, 2008 BTA Bank became the huge bank by the amount of shareholders equity in Kazakhstan and entered the fifth huge banks of CIS. Let me remind that it happened due to effective overcoming of dependence from liquidity crisis on international markets without attracting government support. We proved our capability to gain what we planned. For today BTA Bank intends to become the leading international financing group" - M. Ablyazov marked. In 2007 BTA Bank started rebranding process. Development strategy of BTA group needs new brand - international, universal and clear for all countries of bank conglomerate. Thus, nearly all banks and financial institutes, which are in BTA group, will be united not only single brand, but single standards of business conducting and single approach to the client this year. BTA`s unique advantage - expand net of attendance in CIS countries - along with modern bank technologies and knowing peculiarities of every region of Eurasia will allow group to get access to internal resources of CIS. Thus, in 2007 BTA received the income from daughter banks` activity for the first time. "Only in Russia we consider to get $4.0 bn. deposits of physical entities and as much deposits of corporate clients during nearest two years" - Mr. Ablyazov informed. On the meeting the chairman of directors` Board of BTA Bank rejected western experts` forecast on possibility of default in Kazakhstan: default and bankruptcy absence in bank system during crisis testifies on presence of serious "safety factor" in it. Media contact: Adil Dosymov, press secretary of BTA Bank JSC 8 (727) 266 47 97, e-mail: dosymov@bta.kz Quotation end [2008-07-03]