At the request of the Government of Kazakhstan and in the context of the Joint Economic Research Program, a World Bank Mission visited Kazakhstan from September 28 to October 8, 2004 to identify the most important building blocks needed to increase the competitiveness of the financial sector in Kazakhstan. Priority building blocks for competitiveness in the financial sector were defined as those that: (1) reduce the vulnerabilities of the system to possible negative shocks; (2) increase the intermediation of savings and investments inside the country at a fair price to savers and investors; and (3) increase the potential for the financial services sector to be itself competitive enough so as to make Kazakhstan become an important hub for financial services in the CIS countries. The mission worked closely with management and staff from the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NBK), Financial Regulatory and Supervision Agency (FSA), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning (MEBP). The mission also interacted with various players in the sector (banks, broker dealers, pension funds, asset managers), with the donor community (IFC, EBRD, USAID, ADB) and with the parallel IMF mission assisting the authorities with the complementary task of defining the road towards adopting EU standards for the banking sector.
The attached document presents the draft preliminary assessment of the mission and is made publicly available at the request of the Government of Kazakhstan.
PRIORITIES FOR FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORM: SELECTED ISSUES AND OPTIONS (pdf.)
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