ASTANA (NBK press service) — The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU) signed an agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, NBK Chairman Daniyar Akishev said.

NBK and CBU signed today an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of banking supervision, which for the first time in the history of cooperation between the two countries will create a legal basis for Kazakh banks to enter the banking market Uzbekistan.

According to the agreement, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in accordance with national legislation will cooperate in the form of information exchange on significant innovations and changes that affect the banking sector two states, as well as on the issues of regulatory and legal regulation, control and supervision, to the extent permitted by national law.

In particular, Kazakh banks are given the opportunity to create or acquire a cross-border institution on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. These Kazakh banks have however to comply with the necessary requirements, which include:

• capital in the amount of at least €100 mln equivalent in tenge for the parent bank and in the amount of 100 bln soums for a cross-border establishment;
• having a long-term credit rating on the international scale in foreign currency not below В attributed by agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings or Moody’s.