Inner City Press/FFW: Watchdogging and Taking Action Since 1987

Banking activity is regulated by the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic On Banks and Banking Activity of July 29, 1997 and the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic On the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic of July 29, 1997. Regulator and central bank:

National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR)
101 Umetaliev Str, 720040 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Tel: +996 312 669011, 312 669012  Fax: +996 312 610730
Email: mail@nbkr.kg; Web: www.nbkr.kg (and see this description)

Correspondents:

Ankara: Banque Centrale de la Republique de Turquie SA
Basel: Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Brussels: Banque Nationale de Belgique SA
Frankfurt am Main: Deutsche Bank AG
Frankfurt am Main: Deutsche Bundesbank
London: Standard Bank London Ltd
New York: Citibank NA
New York: Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas
New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Tokyo: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd
Zuerich: UBS AG

From a September 5, 2002, press release on AFX: “Kazkommertsbank has obtained an approval of the National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic on acquisition of JSC Kyrgyzavtobank shares equal to 74,37% of its authorized capital. Thereby, Kazakhstan's largest private bank Kazkommertsbank will become the major shareholder of Kyrgyzavtobank with a controlling stake for a total of 74,4 million soms ($1.6 million)."

  On Feb. 2, 2005, NBKR announced that  “there are three representations of credit banks: Representation of the Mezhgosbank, Russian ‘Promsvyazbank,’ and TuranAlem" (this last is Kazakh).

Pakistan

Regulator and central bank:

State Bank of Pakistan
I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Pakistan.
Phone: (+92-21)-24450298, Fax: (+92-21) 9212440
www.sbp.org.pk

Regarding service to "unbanked area," the State Bank of Pakistan in October 2004 "decided that, henceforth, every bank should open at least 20% of branches planned to be opened, under its annual branch expansion plan, in unbanked areas. Banks are advised to keep this in view while submitting their annual branch expansion plan for year 2005 and onwards. The above instructions will not be applicable to Microfinance Banks, Islamic Banks, Islamic Banking subsidiaries of existing commercial banks and stand alone Islamic Banking branches of commercial banks."

The next month, a second exemption was added: the "condition of opening 20% branches in unbanked areas shall not be applicable in case of bank having 100 or less branches."

  Even with these exemptions, the IMF / World Bank in a subsequent 18-page Technical Note opined that "the newly privatised banks still face several challenges, including... the maintenance of loss-making branches in the 'unbanked' areas."  See, Business Recorder of May 12, 2005.

Turkmenistan (and Deutsche Bank)

President Saparmurat Niyazov is the man who makes the decisions for oil and gas. He signs the E&P deals or JV agreements with foreign companies.

APS Review Downstream Trends of October 4, 2004 calls his regime "the most repressive" state in Central Asia --

"The constitution says Turkmenistan is a 'secular democracy' in the form of a presidential republic. In practice, it is a Niyazovland in which policy is only what the president decides - a private estate with its income going to the "presidential fund", now worth over $ 5 bn, which is managed by Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. Only Niyazov can use the money. Parliament is dominated by his Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the sole political group in the country."

From Central Banking Publications: "The former chairman of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, Khudaiberdi Orazov, is under fire from the top prosecutor's office, accused of loan fraud. A warrant has been issued for his arrest because he has allegedly embezzled $120 million. He supposedly stole loans from Deutsche Bank."

Excerpts from report by Turkmen TV on October 31, 2000: "Yesterday Turkmen President Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy received a member of the board of German Deutsche Bank, Tessen von Heydebreck, who is leading a visiting Deutsche Bank delegation... They talked about Turkmenistan's economic potential; von Heydebreck praised the country's economic development program."

TASS News Agency of October 30, 2000: "Investments in the oil and natural gas sector of Turkmenistan are seen as a high priority by the Deutsche Bank, its officials assured President Saparmurat Niyazov during the course of their meeting in Ashkhabad on Monday. Niyazov and Deutsche Bank board member Tessen von Heidebraek highly assessed the fulfilment of the agreement on cooperation between the German Bank and the government of Turkmenistan signed in 1996 and approved the signing of a new agreement on continued cooperation. the German Bank and the government of this Central Asian republic will sign a framework crediting agreement on the funding of the investment projects, including the supplies of equipment and provision of services."

Commenting on Deutsche Bank's presence in Central and Eastern Europe, ['DB CEO Rolf] Breuer "emphasized that its longstanding, close relationships with these countries have been important even during times when the political and economic climate has been difficult. Deutsche Bank was pleased to accept the challenge to help rebuild the economies of Central and Eastern Europe. The opening and liberalization of these markets offers further businesses in which the bank expects to see substantial growth. Deutsche Bank is currently represented through offices, branches and subsidiaries in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Poland, Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Hungary and Uzbekistan. " (Breuer Statement of September 25, 2000)

Location: (per Deutsche Bank's web site)

 
Four Points Ak Altin Hotel, Office 210, Magtumguli Ave. 141/1
744000 Ashgabat
Turkmenistan
Phone Number:
Tel: (+993) 12363512, 12363514
Fax: (+993) 12363461

Deutsche Bank is, ironically, a member of the UN's Global Compact...

  Click here for ICP/FFW's profile of Deutsche Bank

and see HumanRightsEnforcement.org

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Human Rights & Finance: Predatory Lending in a Deregulated Network Economy