Reuters reveals Kazakhstan planning more than $1 billion in fresh aid to banks

Reuters exclusively reported that Kazakhstan plans to provide more than $1 billion in aid to at least four local banks after an asset quality review revealed holes in their balance sheets that require capital injections. The move follows previous bailouts that have cost the oil-producing Central Asian nation more than $13 billion but have still not resuscitated a banking system riddled with bad loans after a property price crash and a currency devaluation. New bailouts could necessitate extra borrowing by the government or, if they are once again financed by the central bank, put pressure on the tenge currency.