Country Manual Private Banking – Kazakhstan – BRP Update 2024
BRP has updated its Country Manual Private Banking for Kazakhstan out of bank’s country of establishment (DEF, RS, BT and RT)
| Source of changes | Answers |
|---|---|
| Law / Regulation | Yes |
| New Position of the Authorities | No |
| Evolution of Expert’s Interpretation | Yes |
Regulatory Template, Regulatory Summary and Behaviour Template
Material changes
After in-depth reviews and further discussions with the local counsels in Kazakhstan, this CM PB is being republished due to the evolution of the interpretation of the recent amendments in the law on Securities Market (Law No. 461-II of July 2, 2003).
The previous consultation was based on established practices of engagement with the regulators and other state authorities in Kazakhstan, and given that the law on Securities Market governs social relations within the securities markets and is also designed to protect the rights of investors and securities holders, it was led to believe that certain aspects of this law fall within the realm of public law, i.e., the law is also associated with safeguarding public and/or national interests. From the local lawyers’ extensive experience in interacting with the state bodies, it has been observed the Kazakh authorities’ tendency to interpret specific provisions of public law conservatively and restrictively. Occasionally, such norms are applied broadly, potentially affecting persons and/or entities who should not be subject to the law or applied in situations where the rights of other individuals (i.e. public) might be at risk.
At the time of the previous consultation, the application of those recent amendments to the law had not been firmly established. Consequently, we have adopted a cautious stance to mitigate all potential risks, including those that were merely hypothetical.
Now, in light of our additional research and analysis along with the local counsels with regards to the provision of investment advices relating to conclusion of transactions with securities and other financial instruments in Kazakhstan, it is understood that licensing obligations are applicable solely to entities with a physical presence in Kazakhstan. Therefore, a foreign entity lacking a physical presence in Kazakhstan is deemed free to provide investment services remotely. However, to mitigate potential risks, it is recommended to include a disclaimer stating that the place of investment advice provision is the location of the Bank’s country of establishment.
Investment advisory services provided on Kazakh territory remain subject to authorisation.
Non-material changes
Several comments have been slightly reworded (without introducing material changes) to reflect the regulatory situation/current interpretation of the regulatory framework more accurately.
Regulatory Summary
This document has now a more user-friendly layout and reflects the changes contained in the RT.
BT Short Comparison
BRP has created a comparison document allowing users to quickly identify the modifications made compared to the previous version of the PB Manual (BT Short Comparison). The BT Short Comparison can be found on BRP’s platform (mybrponline) in the Search tab by entering in the Document Field “CM PB BT SHORT COMP” and “KAZAKHSTAN” in the Target Country Field.
The BT Short Comparison should be read as follows:
The first column contains a short description of the activity in question. The second column contains the answers of the previous version of the Country Manual (online until the day of the alert). The third column contains the new answers of the most recent version of the Country Manual. Only the modified answers are displayed (in color). If the answers in the new version are unchanged compared to the previous version, they are shaded in grey.
For more information, please contact us: info@brpsa.com
Geneva, February 19th, 2024