Kazakhstan's Banking Problems

Abstract

Kazakhstan’s banks have been considered one of the country’s major successes, but are currently facing serious difficulties. Foreign loans have to be repaid, but bank assets are tied up in loans with longer maturities. The government has begun to help the banks, but at the cost of fuelling inflation. Further help could come from pension funds or the national oil fund, if restrictions on their investments were revised. Will banks face a liquidity or a solvency crisis? If the former, then resources are available to resolve it albeit with some costs, but if the latter, then the country faces a serious challenge to its financial stability.