BANK CASPIAN (Kazakhstan) informed on was granted the status of the Principal Member of MasterCard International

/KASE, October 17, 08/ - BANK CASPIAN (Almaty), securities of which are traded in Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) official list, provided to KASE the press release where informs on the following: Quotation start Bank Caspian has received the principal member status with the MasterCard International payment system. Bank Caspian will now have an opportunity to work with this system with no mediators and which draws numerous advantages of the principal membership. Raising our status with the MasterCard International within a short time is a significant success of our team", Mikhail Lomtadze, Chairman of the Bank Caspian Board said. "The principal membership of MasterCard will give us further opportunities to broaden our product range and offer our customers new products and services. Bank's second largest branch national network and a customer base are one of the bank's main advantages. As of today Bank Caspian serves over 1m customers. Since the beginning of 2008 the bank has made over 250,000 loans to the population of Kazakhstan. Followed the market research the Bank is planning to offer new products using the card platform. Bank Caspian started offering an innovative credit product called Fast Cash. Customers of the bank with sustainable income might get a loan worth up to KZT1.5 m. a day. Developing the retail financing and small and medium-sized business financing is our bank's strategic priority, Mikhail Lomtadze added. Offering products using international payment systems is a significant line of business to our bank. At the beginning of 2008 we also became the principal member of Visa International. Becoming the principal member of both international payment systems within one year is a remarkable event for our bank and success of our team. For more information please contact: Botagoz Zhumanova Head of Media Relations Tel.: 8 (7272) 501 800 (ext. 1376) e-mail: Zhumanova@bc.kz Mobile: +7 777 232 51 12 Quotation end [2008-10-17]