OREANDA-NEWS. On 23 July 2009 BTA Bank JSC (“BTA”) released its financial statements in accordance with IFRS for the year ending 31 December 2008, as audited by Ernst & Young LLP.

As a result of a number of factors that have occurred since 31 December 2008, including the devaluation of the Tenge in February 2009, the continued recession in the Kazakhstan real estate and construction markets, questions regarding the value of the Bank's loan portfolio, especially that outside Kazakhstan, as well as on-going investigations with respect to certain of the Bank's operations, BTA's management expects that BTA will have to make substantial provisions in addition to those reflected in its financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2008.

In this context, BTA Bank retained on the services of KPMG LLP to conduct financial due   diligence on the Bank, primarily focused on the Bank’s loan portfolio and other financial investments, as well as off-balance sheet items.

BTA Bank is also pleased to announce that a Creditors’ Steering Committee is in the process of being established in order to facilitate negotiations with bondholders, export credit agencies, lenders and trade finance creditors on the terms of the debt restructuring plan. Its proposed 10 members are Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, D.E. Shaw Group, DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, Euler Hermes, Fortis Investments, Gramercy Advisors LLC, ING Asia Private Bank Limited, The Royal Bank of Scotland, US Exim-Bank and Wachovia Bank N.A.

A presentation of BTA Bank’s financial situation will be delivered by KPMG on July 23 to BTA  Bank Creditors’ Steering Committee based on preliminary management estimates, and in conjunction with that presentation BTA intends to provide details of the envisaged time line for the restructuring process and an indicative menu of options contemplated in the debt restructuring. At this stage, it is anticipated that the debt restructuring plan will comprise a cash buyback option for BTA Bank eligible debt, a capped long term debt roll-over option, and a debt for equity conversion option.

Negotiation of the final terms of the debt restructuring plan will take place with the Creditors’  Steering Committee and will be based on the final KPMG due diligence report in respect of BTA’s financial assets portfolio and on the strategic Business Plan being developed by BTA.