/IRBIS, May 23, 00/ - The chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan believes that the creation of the infrastructure of the Kazakhstani financial market can be finished by the year 2001, when missing segments - the insurance market, financial leasing, postal-savings system and the market of construction savings will appear, informs REUTERS.

He said it would be a good model of the market if the market of construction savings, leasing, insurance market, postal-savings system were created on the one hand, and on the other hand, accumulative pension system and banking sector were functioning already.

The chairman said all the Kazakhstani banks would be transferred to international standards by April 1, 2001 approximately.

We can say we have cleared the banking system and it is transparent, he added.

The National Bank informs that of 230 banks that existed in 1993 only 48 function now, with their capitals reaching $540 mln.

He said that about the Kazakhstani banks that have been audited by one of the "big five" accounted for 92% of aggregate assets of the banking system, and the banks that have international ratings accounted for 72% of the assets.

Marchenko believes that these statistics imply that the banking sector is quite stable, and that the consolidation of the banks will continue.

It is said that the banking sector may further develop not with the big and small regional banks competing with each other, as well as by opening the banks, mainly foreign ones, to work in certain "niches" of the economy.

He said two Chinese banks were financing trade operations with China only, and that the National bank of Pakistan had received a license to finance Pakistani business in Kazakhstan.

Our goal is not to make 15 banks out of current 48 banks, besides, the competition will do that for us, Marchenko added.

By the end of this year the National Bank plans to launch the insurance market, the scheme of financial leasing, and the law on financial leasing will be sent to the parliament in May, he said.

The chairman said the National Bank was working on housing financing model of the market, which would be comprised of two segments - the mortgage financing and the system of construction savings. The National Bank estimates that about 3-5% of the population can afford mortgage financing, whereas the construction savings system would be affordable to about 15% of the population.

This is an important matter discussed by the government, he added.

At the end of last year the government of Kazakhstan made a decision to postpone the privatization of Kazpost and to pass it under the management of Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan for two years, is said.

The Postal system, with its offices in the very remote rural areas, is believed to make some banking services available to the village people. Marchenko says the Postal system had already began to collect deposits and that insurance policies could be sold through the postal offices, as well as pension funds and commercial banks that do not have extensive network of branches could offer their services.

The chairman said it would be a neutral transportation medium that belongs to the government, and private insurance companies, banks, pension funds, brokerage companies could use it to accumulate the funds of the population.

"The main thing is we are trying to introduce international standards, the second - we acquire the best examples, and the third - it is a competitive environment that exists on our market", he said.

Marchenko says postal-savings system will be created using the Japanese model, the system of construction savings - German, the infrastructure of corporate securities market was created using the American model, the pension reform - using the Chilean model, the insurance market would be created on the basis of the American and Canadian models.

"We will come to a normal market, because the creation of a stable banking system took five to six years", said the chairman assuming that the development of other segments of the market would not be easy.