NB of Kazakhstan expects growth in bank deposits up to $700-800 mln in 2000

/IRBIS, March 6, 00/ - REUTERS informs, with the reference to the chairman of the bank, that National Bank of Kazakhstan expects deposits of the population in Kazakhstani banks to double by the end of the year up to $700- 800 mln thanks to launching the fund of collective insurance of deposits. The chairman said of this amount $350-400 mln would be time deposits. January increase in bank deposits of the population reached 3.5% mainly due to time deposits, at KZT56.9 bln ($408 mln), however reduction in the amount of deposits usually happens in January. Most of the people were afraid of conversions of their deposits, frozen after April 1999 devaluation of tenge, in January, and they left them in the banks after the National Bank made the conversion as it promised. Marchenko believes that it is the positive moment, and that increase will continue as the fund of collective insurance of deposits began to function from February 16 and the law on banking secrets will be adopted and ratified until March 17. He said this law has been approved by Majilis (lower house of the parliament) last week, and it will be considered by the senate on March 7, and should be ratified within a month (by March 17) from the day it was submitted to the parliament since it has a high priority status. The fund of collective insurance of time deposits contains 16 banks of Kazakhstan and it began to work in February. In case one of the banks goes into bankruptcy, the fund compensates the depositors their deposits.