The National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan allowed Kazakh billionaire Vladimir Kim to become a major shareholder at Bank RBK JSC, the lender said Aug. 1.

The ownership changes at Bank RBK are associated with the lender's plans to merge with JSC Qazaq Banki. When signing a merger memorandum in June, the banks said Kim would hold a major controlling participant role in the new structure.

As of July 1, Kim owned a 7.26% stake in Bank RBK, according to information available on the Kazakh Stock Exchange.