The Russian Sberbank has decided to leave the Kazakh market and is negotiating the sale of its subsidiary to the state holding Baiterek. Madina Abylkasymova, head of the Republican Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, told about this, Kazinform reports .

According to her, the reason was the sanctions imposed against Sberbank because of the war in Ukraine. “He had correspondent accounts in foreign banks closed, and the ability to attract new financing was also limited. In this regard, Sberbank decided to sell its subsidiary bank in Kazakhstan. At present, relevant negotiations are underway with the Baiterek holding regarding the sale of the bank,” Abylkassymova said.

She did not disclose the details of the transaction, noting that the most important thing for government agencies is proper legal support. Negotiations on the sale with Baiterek began in May, when sources claimed that the Kazakh state-owned company was the only contender for the toxic asset. The transaction amount was estimated in the range of $250-425 million.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine , severe sanctions have been imposed on Sberbank. The restrictions affected both the top management of the bank (which led to an outflow of managers) and its financial infrastructure: Sber is disconnected from the SWIFT system, it is forbidden to dispose of its foreign exchange assets, in addition, sanctions were imposed against a significant number of its foreign divisions. For similar reasons, Alfa-Bank got rid of its Kazakhstani subsidiary earlier.