Kazakh Banks Face Double Bind on Deposit Rule as Tenge Falls
- New rule sets capital hit for deposits over 5.5 times equity
- Kaspi Bank may already have exceeded the ceiling, data show
This article is for subscribers only.
Kazakhstan’s Kaspi Bank, which counts Goldman Sachs Group Inc. among its shareholders, may be too popular with savers for its own good.
With 600 billion tenge ($1.6 billion) of deposits from individuals and 108 billion tenge of equity as of Dec. 1, according to central bank data, the Almaty-based lender may already be pushing the limits of a new rule that foresees a capital hit for banks whose deposits exceed 5.5 times equity. Some other banks, such as Centercredit Bank, are approaching that level.