Yesterday, a ceremony was held in Ashgabat to sign a cooperation agreement between Nurbank and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC). Nurbank will become the first Kazakh bank to offer its clients insurance and export credit services for trade and investment transactions with ICIEC member countries up to $150 million USD. The agreement was signed by the Director General of ICIEC, Dr. Abdel Rahman Taha, and the Chairman of Nurbank, Marat Zairov.
This Memorandum was signed during the 34th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Taha emphasized: “As the global financial crisis and subsequent recession continue to impact economies worldwide, the role of export credit is becoming clear in ensuring an uninterrupted flow of goods and services.”
ICIEC is a division of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The main goal of ICIEC is to enhance the IDB Group's strategy in promoting export and internal trade among IDB member countries and assisting in attracting foreign investments. Currently, ICIEC has 37 member countries, including 17 Arab countries, 13 African countries, and 9 Asian and European countries. ICIEC holds an 'AAA' rating from Moody’s and collaborates closely with leading insurance companies globally. To date, ICIEC has supported trade and investments of its member countries to the tune of more than $5 billion USD. Kazakhstan has been a member of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit since 2005.
Previously, in April 2009, Nurbank had already attracted funds from another subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank—the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, for the purpose of financing small and medium-sized businesses.
The signing of the agreement was preceded by Mr. Zairov's visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-May this year. During the visit, meetings were held with the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, Vice President Abdul Aziz Al Hinai, and the heads of IDB's subsidiaries: the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), and a number of Saudi banks.
During the meeting with IDB President Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, Mr. Zairov outlined the current situation in Kazakhstan's banking sector, measures taken by the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan to support the real sector of the economy, the prospects for the development of Islamic finance in the republic, and the progress of utilizing the credit line from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation. For his part, the IDB President noted that he is ready to consider all of Nurbank's proposals for various projects and areas of cooperation.
Also discussed during the visit were prospects for joint financing of investment projects with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The current program of Nurbank to finance enterprises engaged in Kazakhstan's agricultural sector aroused particular interest from the IDB group leaders.
Nurbank is among the ten largest banks in Kazakhstan. According to the audited consolidated financial statements as of January 1, 2009, the bank's assets amounted to 298.8 billion tenge, compared to 198.7 billion tenge as of January 1, 2008. The deposit base amounted to 185.5 billion tenge, having increased by 126.7 billion tenge over the year.