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Eurasia
August 18, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
Kazakh Bank CenterCredit net profit grows more than twofold in H1
bne IntelliNews
The net profit of Bank CenterCredit grew more than doubled to KZT2.6bn (€6.6mn) in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, the LS news agency reported on August 16.
While the sharp devaluation of the tenge after the adoption of the floating exchange rate for the na- tional currency in 2015 and 2016 has hurt foreign- currency borrowers' ability to service debt, some Kazakh banks have benefitted from the weak tenge that reduced operational costs.
The bank’s operating income grew by 8.2% y/y to KZT16.1bn, while operating profit grew to KZT2.3bn compared to KZT341mn in the same period of 2016.
The bank's assets fell by 9.7% to KZT1.2tn in the six-month period. Liabilities shrank by 10.8% to KZT1.1tn, while the bank's own capital grew by 4% to KZT103.3bn.
South Korea's Kookmin Bank has sold its 41.93% stake in Bank CenterCredit to a consortium of Kazakh investors, including Tsesnabank and Bakhytbek Baiseitov, which holds a 44.5% stake in Tsesnabank, LS news agency reported on April 20, citing Kazakhstan’s Stock Exchange (KASE).
Tsesnabank was earlier granted permission by the Kazakh central bank to buy a controlling stake in CenterCredit, initiating the possibility of a merger of the two banks. Kazakh banks were hit by deteriorating economic conditions in 2015 and 2016 as well as instability in the operating environment in Kazakhstan. That likely had an impact on Kookmin Bank’s decision to sell its shares.
CenterCredit Bank is ranked fifth in terms of as- sets ($4.1bn) in Kazakhstan, while Tsesnabank is Kazakhstan's third-biggest lender.
NOTE: Q2 is in the presentation of Kazakhstan's statistics office a cumulative H1 figure (Q1+Q2), while Q4 is a cumulative H2 figure (Q3+Q4).