The devaluation of the tenge on February 11 was carried out flawlessly, said at a briefing in Astana Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Kairat Kelimbetov . He clarified that not even all Central Bank employees knew about this decision. “ By the way, they were presented with complaints and were probably not allowed home in the evening, because they, like all citizens of Kazakhstan, felt the consequences of such a change in the tenge exchange rate. A very small group knew,” he said. Calls from almost all Kazakh banks complaining about why they were not warned surprised the chairman of the Central Bank.

“ Carrying out a one-time adjustment is an honest and fair issue, no one should have known. A very narrow group of people who decide when and how to produce it,” said Kairat Kelimbetov. According to him, " all relevant law enforcement agencies have received the command, and it is very easy to find out whether there was a leak of information or not, who knew about it or did not know." Meanwhile, the decision on devaluation has been prepared for the last six months with the necessary research and calculations, he added. “ A very important point was the receipt in recent days of the results of the balance of payments review for 2013,” ITAR-TASS quotes him. — We began to receive results in various volumes and reports on the main currencies of partner countries, including the European Union, developing countries, Russia and China. Therefore, when we compared all this, there was generally an understanding that in any case, a change in monetary policy would occur in 2013.”

According to Kelimbetov, “ a smooth correction of the exchange rate leads to nervousness of the population, to large flows from currency to currency, which we have seen over the past year in Russia.” All this time, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan also had “ big devaluation expectations” and the regulator was forced to restrain the exchange rate, he added. “ This raised concerns... and we came to the decision that the exchange rate needed to be adjusted. This year we will witness that many countries will make similar decisions ( on devaluation),” Kelimbetov said. He also expressed hope that the people of Kazakhstan “ will eventually understand why such adjustments are being made.”

Also, adjustment of the tenge exchange rate was necessary for banks to stop engaging in currency speculation, ITAR-TASS quotes Kelimbetov. He recalled that in 2013, banks tried to convert all available funds into foreign currency, provided little credit to businesses and engaged in currency speculation, and the Central Bank decided to take measures to support the national currency. According to Kelimbetov, the economy of Kazakhstan is dollarized by 40%, while in Russia it is by 20-25%.

The Chairman of the Central Bank assured that the situation with the exchange rate and retail prices will normalize in the near future. He warned that tough measures would be taken against exchange offices that inflate exchange rates, including the revocation of their license. He also urged not to react to rumors about a new devaluation: it will not happen. He called the spreaders of such rumors provocateurs. “ 185 tenge per dollar is now for the long term, for the medium term. The fluctuations will be small, maybe over time it will be 182-183 tenge per dollar, but these are small losses, and we do not recommend running to withdraw deposits or convert them into dollars,” ITAR-TASS quotes. ... Read more →

On February 11, the National Bank of Kazakhstan released the tenge exchange rate and announced devaluation. The regulator explained this decision by changes in the global economy and the weakening of the Russian ruble. In recent years, the Central Bank has purposefully kept the exchange rate within 145-155 tenge per $1, this has ensured economic and financial stability, the regulator said, but the winding down of the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program caused a flow of capital from emerging markets to developed ones and increased pressure on exchange rates : the adjustment is justified. In the structure of Kazakhstan’s international reserves, 70% are in dollars. The Central Bank lowered the tenge exchange rate by 19% to 185 per $1.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan announced the devaluation of the tenge →

Following the regulator’s statement, Kazakh commercial banks raised US dollar exchange rates on the cash market. Some exchange offices in large cities of Kazakhstan have limited the sale of dollars. In particular, in some exchange offices in Astana, limits were set at $200-500 per person. Many exchange offices in the cities of Kazakhstan have closed.

Car dealers in Kazakhstan have suspended sales for an indefinite period. Kazakh sites that carry out online sales of computers and household appliances have also suspended operations. In large cities, offline stores of household appliances have closed for re-registration.

The head of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan called the devaluation “impeccable”