DUSHANBE, June 23, Asia-Plus – On June 21, Bank Austria Creditanstalt, which is part of the European banking group UniCredit, signed an agreement on the purchase of a controlling stock interest in Kazakhstan”s ATFBank.
Russia’s Interfax reports UniCredit Group valued the bank at $2.175 billion, although this amount does not take into account a $100-million increase in its charter capital that the current ATF shareholders will carry out before the transaction is completed.
Since UniCredit Group has bought a majority stake in ATFBank, the Khujand-based SohibkorBonk in Tajikistan has also passed into hands of UniCredit Group as ATFBank owns the controlling stock interest in SohibkorBonk.
Asia-Plus asked Jamshed Qavmiddinov, chairman of open joint-stock company SohibkorBonk, to give comments on this situation.
“The fact that UniCredit Group has purchased a majority stake in ATFBank will not hurt further expansion of relations between SohibkorBonk and ATFBank,” said Qavmiddinov, “Our bank remains daughter structure of Kazakhstan’s capital that now belongs to UniCredit Group. Work on development of the Tajik bank is ongoing.”
The Asia-Plus interlocutor added that the acquisition is the largest banking deal ever concluded within the CIS area. ATFBank is the first Kazakh bank passing into hands of foreign financial institution.
The SohibkorBonk top manager noted that ATFBank intends to actively work on Tajik financial market in the framework of the endorsed strategic plan.
Bloomberg.com reports the Vienna-based Bank Austria Creditanstalt said in its January 21 statement that it agreed to buy at least 85 percent of the Almaty-based corporate and retail bank and hopes to acquire the remaining shares.
UniCredit Group, the main shareholder of Bulbank (85,2%), is the leading banking group in Italy in terms of stock exchange capitalization. In Europe it is among the top 5 ranking banking groups in terms of efficiency and profitability, and among the top 20 – on total assets. It holds a leading position in Poland, Bulgaria and Croatia, and ranks either among the top three or the top five in Bosnia, Turkey, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and the Czech Republic. There are also significant banking presences in Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovenia and the Baltic states.
Established in 1995, ATFBank is Kazakhstan”s fifth-largest bank, trailing Kazkommertsbank, Bank TuranAlem, Alliance Bank and Halyk Savings Bank by assets. As of May 1, 2007, its assets have been valued at 992.4 billion tenge (equivalent to some 8$ billion). ATFBank has 110 branches dealing primarily with companies, though it is also expanding rapidly into retail banking.
We will recall that ATFBank has increased its shareholding in Sohibkorbank from 24.06% to 50.83% of total outstanding common stock, and it now owns the controlling stock interest in the Tajik bank.
SohibkorBonk was established in the northern city of Khujand in 1999 and is among the six largest banks of Tajikistan. The bank has 11 branches throughout the country, including Dushanbe, Istaravshan, Konibodom, Isfara, Chkalovsk, Buston (Mastchoh district), Qurghon Teppa, Tursunzoda, Rudaki and Panjakent.
