ASTANA – Kazakh National Bank approved June 14 the voluntary reorganisation of Qazkom, formerly known as Kazkommertsbank, through its accession to Halyk Bank.
The permit issued by the country’s financial regulator also envisions the purchase of Qazkom subsidiaries by Halyk Bank, owned by Kazakh businessman Timur Kulibayev and Dinara Nazarbayeva.
“Halyk Bank was granted a permit to purchase subsidiaries of Qazkom. These include Kazkommerts-Life, Kazkommerts-Polis insurance company, Kazkommerts Securities,” said the national bank statement.
Halyk Bank bought 98.61 percent of Qazkom common shares in July 2017. The same month it recapitalised Qazkom by 185 billion tenge (US$549.2 million).
Synchronisation of the banking procedures and processes and integration of IT systems and banking infrastructure is underway.
The integration of the two banks, the largest such deal in the history of Kazakh banking system, is expected to finish in the second half of this year, according to Halyk Bank CEO Umut Shayakhmetova. The new bank will hold roughly 40 percent of the Kazakh financial assets.
“We receive many questions whether Qazkom brand will remain after the merger of Halyk Bank and Qazkom. I would like to note that the main brand will be that of Halyk Bank. Yet, we reserve the right to Qazkom trade mark. There will be a transition period during the acquisition process. But our clients will not be affected by his process. The system, however, will be uniform and will be served by Halyk Bank,” said Shayakhmetova in May.
The recent Qazkom shareholders meeting decided to voluntarily submit an application to the National Bank for termination of the Qazkom banking license during 30 days following the signing of the transfer act.
Shayakhmetova noted it was an “an expected stage in the history of integration of two banks.”“We recognise the full responsibility of this moment, therefore, we are making every effort for Qazkom clients to feel positive changes. Over last months, the teams of two banks have been undertaking practical work to consolidate banking operations into Halyk Bank, which will take over all assets and obligations of Qazkom. Qazkom will no longer need a banking license when its client accounts will be transferred to the integrated bank, therefore the decision was made to return it. This legal procedure will be completed once the assets will be merged. Until that moment, Qazkom will continue its work,” said Shayakhmetova.
