Kazakhstan's Bank RBK repays another $34.5 mln in govt aid

ASTANA. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Bank RBK continues to repay its debt to the government, having returned an additional 16.6 billion tenge or $34.5 million in state aid received during 2017-2018 as part of a financial stability program, the bank's press service said.

"Bank RBK has made a partial early repayment of 16.6 billion tenge received under Kazakhstan's financial stability program. This decision was made by the bank's shareholders based on the 2023 results," it said.

The bank also said that in 2022, it repaid approximately 13 billion tenge in government, bringing the total repaid amount to 29.6 billion tenge.

The subordinated bonds issued by the bank in 2017-2018 as part of the aid mature in November 2032.

"Since 2017, the bank has paid 58.8 billion tenge in coupon interest on the state funds received," the bank added.

Shareholders of Bank RBK initially decided to repay 15.4 billion tenge in state aid for 2023. However, at a meeting on July 25, they increased the repayment amount.

In April 2023, six Kazakh banks, including Bank RBK, faced restrictions on dividend payments due to receiving state assistance. These restrictions aimed to prevent dividends from being paid out using state support funds and encouraged early repayment of state aid. State support refers to bank obligations related to deposits, bonds, and loans provided under favorable conditions from the state budget, National Fund, National Bank, Kazakhstan Stability Fund, and quasi-government companies. According to the regulator's decision, income derived from state support cannot be distributed as dividends. From now on, banks can only use "clean" profit-excluding income from state support-for dividend payments.

Previously, Halyk Bank and Jusan Bank repaid their government aid early. In 2017, Bank RBK faced financial problems, leading to recapitalization and participation in a 240 billion tenge government support program. The plan included issuing 15-year subordinated bonds worth 244 billion tenge with a fixed annual coupon rate of 4%, with interest paid once a year.

As of April 1, 2024, 89.77% of Bank RBK's shares are owned by KCC Finance owned by Vladimir Kim, and the bank's CEO, Natalya Akentyeva, owns 6.49%.

Bank RBK ranked 10th among Kazakhstan's 21 banks in terms of assets as of July 1, 2024.