Suleimenov Acknowledges Questions over Baiterek’s Regulatory Status

National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov addressed concerns over whether the state holding Baiterek has effectively become a parallel financial system with insufficient oversight, Orda.kz reports.

Baiterek currently consolidates nearly all business support mechanisms in Kazakhstan — including lending, leasing, insurance, subsidies, and guarantees — yet unlike private banks, it does not fall under full financial regulatory standards.

Suleimenov acknowledged the issue:

Baiterek has all the tools a market financial system offers, from guarantees to lending. As far as I know, it lacks the full-fledged regulation that private banks enjoy. There are separate laws for the Bank of Russia and Otbasy Bank, and some oversight elements, but it's far from the same.

He noted that when state institutions compete with commercial players, regulatory conditions must be comparable; otherwise, market balance is distorted.

The National Bank chief stressed that oversight questions should be discussed with the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and with the government:

It's important that the holding company doesn't take on excessive debt or invest half its capital in one major project. I think both the holding company and the government are working on this. I can't say yet whether additional regulations are needed, but it's a good question. We'll discuss it and report back.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov