FITCH ASSIGNS LOCAL CURRENCY RATINGS TO FOUR KAZAKH BANKS

/REUTERS, London/Moscow, September 9, 05/ - Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency, has today assigned Long-term Local Currency ratings to four Kazakhstani banks as follows: Development Bank of Kazakhstan ("DBK") has been assigned a Long-term Local Currency rating of 'BBB' with a Stable Outlook. DBK's other ratings are affirmed at Long-term Foreign Currency 'BBB-' (BBB minus) with a Stable Outlook, Short-term 'F3', Support '2'. Kazkommertsbank ("KKB"), Bank Turan Alem ("BTA") and Halyk Bank ("Halyk") have each been assigned a Long-term Local Currency rating of 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook. The other ratings of each of these banks are affirmed at Long-term Foreign Currency BB' with a Stable Outlook, Short-term 'B', Individual 'C/D', Support '3'. The Long-term Local Currency ratings assigned to the four banks reflect Fitch's view of the likelihood of support in local currency being forthcoming for each of them from the Kazakhstani authorities. Taking into account the ability of the Kazakhstani authorities to provide such support, as reflected in Kazakhstan's 'BBB' Long-term Local Currency rating, Fitch believes there is a high probability of this support being forthcoming for DBK, and a moderate probability of support being made available to KKB, BTA and Halyk. The four banks' Long-term Local Currency ratings are in each case one notch higher than their Long-term Foreign Currency ratings because of the greater ability of the Kazakhstan authorities to provide support in local currency. This is reflected in the differential between Kazakhstan's 'BBB' Long-term Local Currency and 'BBB-'(BBB minus) Long-term Foreign Currency ratings. DBK was established in 2001 as a 100% state-owned company with the objective to foster Kazakhstan's economic development by providing medium- to long-term financing for infrastructure and production sector projects, and by issuing pre-export loans and guarantees. At 1 July 2005, 87% of the bank's shares were held by the government of Kazakhstan, with 13% equally distributed among the local government bodies of 14 regions and the cities of Almaty and Astana. KKB was the largest commercial bank in Kazakhstan by IFRS assets at end- 2004. One individual controls a majority stake in the bank. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is a minority shareholder and actively involved in board-level decision making. BTA was the second largest commercial bank in Kazakhstan by IFRS assets at end-2004, The bank's common stock is owned primarily by a number of Kazakh investors, but Raiffeisen Zentralbank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation and Nederlandse Financierings - Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden own convertible preferred shares. Halyk is the third largest bank in Kazakhstan and, reflecting its roots as the former state savings bank, has the largest branch network in the country. [2005-09-09]