LONDON. May 20. KAZINFORM The EBRD is participating in a capital increase of Kazkommertsbank (KKB) by investing $40 million into the acquisition of new shares of Kazakhstan’s second largest bank. The transaction comes under the EBRD’s crisis response package to stabilize and support the financial sector in its countries of operations to maintain vital flows of funding to enterprises and households. The capital increase is part of a stabilization strategy for KKB which also saw the state-owned SamrukKazyna National Welfare Fund temporarily take up to 25 percent-stake in one of the largest Kazakh banks. The key shareholders of KKB agreed to review and further improve in the near future the funding and lending policies, risk management, and corporate governance of KKB. Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Business Group Director Financial Institutions, said “the EBRD’s participation in this capital increase is expected to send a strong signal to the market that we see KKB as a viable financial institution which will overcome the current crisis. A strong and healthy banking sector is crucial for the recovery of the countries in our region from the global crisis.” Since the beginning of its operations in Kazakhstan in 1991, the EBRD and its partners have invested around $6 billion in more than 100 projects in the country and the Bank today is the largest single investor in Kazakhstan outside the oil and gas sector, the Bank’s press release reads.