Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Glossary -- Overview -- 1 Conceptual Framework, Stylized Facts, and the Role of the Government -- 2 The Use of Long-Term Finance by Firms and Households: Determinants and Impact -- 3 The Use of Markets for Long-Term Finance --...

The purpose of this note is to explore the reasons for a comparatively high interest rate spread in Kazakhstan in the context of competition in the banking sector. In spite of significant gains in efficiency made in recent years, operational costs and provisioning for loan losses remain high...