Kazakh banking sector clean-up continues with Tsesnabank sale

The end of a protracted and pricey restructuring of Kazakhstan’s banking sector came a step closer in February with the sale of troubled lender Tsesnabank to a well-connected local brokerage.

First Heartland Securities (FHS), part of a group controlled by state-owned Nazarbayev University, bought the bank after Kazakh authorities agreed to take a further KZT604 billion ($1.6 billion) of bad debts off its balance sheet.

It was the second purchase of impaired loans from Tsesnabank by Kazakhstan’s problem asset fund in less than six months, following a KZT450 million transfer in September.