of 483 observations. Where possible, data is collected on a monthly frequency and then aggregated at the annual level.

# _4.1 Data sources_

Data on bank financial indicators are gathered from their public disclosures available on the website of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK). This published bank information contains monthly data on the balance-sheet information,<sup>j</sup> key items of the financial position of banks,<sup>k</sup> prudential ratios, and prudential capital adequacy.<sup>l</sup> The financial items are based on unconsolidated reporting according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which were introduced in Kazakhstan in 2004.

The data on bailout actions contain hand-collected information primarily from the financial reporting of the public sector institutions, depending on their participation in the bailouts. Where possible, the bailout actions have been verified through disclosures in the audited financial statements of the banks. The information on equity bailouts comes primarily from annual reports of the National Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna<sup>m</sup> and official stock market announcements by KASE (the stock exchange) about the terms of equity divestments of bank #24, bank #41, and bank #2. The information on subordinated bond instruments is retrieved from the audited financial reports of the National Bank of Kazakhstan<sup>n</sup> and its subsidiary—the Kazakhstan Sustainability Fund.<sup>o</sup> The data on bailout actions in the form of acquisitions of non-performing assets is retrieved from the financial reporting of the Problem Loan Fund.<sup>p</sup> The bailout actions with long-term deposits at preferential terms are also described in the audited financial statements of Samruk-Kazyna and the Problem Loan Fund.

The data on bank ownership and major corporate events consists of hand-collected annual information primarily using the disclosed notes of the audited financial statements of banks and, only in some cases supplemented with news media reports and information from other IFIs for cross-checking. The ownership classification has been designed to reflect differences in bank operations that stem from shareholder profiles. There are 4 groups: foreign (state-owned and private) banks, local state-owned banks, local private banks, and PEP family-associated banks.<sup>q</sup> In general, for bank mergers, there are three important dates: (1) the announcement of possible transaction and application with the relevant authorities to receive their approval, (2) the closing of the transaction when ownership rights are transferred, and (3) the transfer of assets and liabilities. In our analysis, to identify a merger or acquisition, we consider the second date—that is, the closing of the transaction, while the date when the financials of the target institution are not compiled anymore is usually later. The bank financials during the transition period between the

> j <u>https://www.nationalbank.kz/file/download/72713.</u>

> k <u>https://www.nationalbank.kz/file/download/72716.</u>

> l <u>https://www.nationalbank.kz/file/download/72707.</u>

> m <u>https://sk.kz/investors/financial-performance/?lang=en.</u>

> n <u>https://www.nationalbank.kz/en/news/godovoy-otchet-nbk.</u> o <u>https://www.kfu.kz/index.php/ru/otchjotnost.</u>

> p <u>https://www.fpl.kz/en/audit</u> and https://www.fpl.kz/en/godovoi-otchet.

> q Our classification has been informally cross-checked against that of some IFIs operating in Kazakhstan.

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