ATF Bank, Kazakhstan

MIGA has issued a guarantee of up to $190.0 million covering UniCredit Bank Austria AG’s (UBA) $200 million shareholder loan to its subsidiary, ATF Bank Kazakhstan. The coverage is for a period of five years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

The loan will improve ATF Bank’s asset-liability management through better matching of maturities in light of the shortage of long-term financing available in the Kazakh market. The loan is part of a broader funding strategy of the UniCredit Group to finance its subsidiaries and is particularly important given the current turmoil in financial markets worldwide, including Kazakhstan.

MIGA’s support for this project is in conjunction with the Financial Sector Initiative (FSI) framework recently developed by MIGA as part of a coordinated international response to the ongoing global financial crisis.  MIGA’s support will play a critical role in facilitating adequate long-term cross-border flows from UBA into its subsidiary in Kazakhstan by providing liquidity, and will help, in part, Kazakhstan’s financial sector to stabilize. This shareholder loan will provide refinancing of existing liabilities in the Kazakh economy. The ultimate beneficiaries of this loan will be customers, mortgage borrowers, and municipalities in Kazakhstan.

One of the main pillars of the World Bank Group’s country partnership strategy for Kazakhstan is enhancing competitiveness and private business. The project is  consistent with the aforementioned pillar.