Kyrgyz Republic: Zalkar Bank
Brief on IFC's PPP advisory support to OJSC Zalkar Bank and the Agency for Bank Reorganization and Debt Restructuring to provide assistance on the sale of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In 2010, to reform the Kyrgyz Republic’s financial sector during a period of political transition, the government nationalized several institutions, including the Kyrgyz Republic’s then-largest bank. To launch the restructuring process and restore finan- cial stability, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic founded OJSC Zalkar Bank (“Zalkar”). Zalkar’s Board of Directors and DEBRA (the Agency for Bank Reorganiza- tion and Debt Restructuring) retained IFC in March 2012 to guide them on the bank’s sale.
In May 2013, Russia’s Investment and Trade Business Holding Company (ITB Holding) purchased 90 percent of Zalkar Bank’s shares for approximately $4 million, with the remaining 10 percent of shares reserved for the State Property Management Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic. The sale of Zalkar Bank is expected to improve its technical and financial capacities, modernize its commercial practices, and provide new services to its customers, ultimately making it a sustainable financial institution.
