REFILE-Kazakh bank Alliance files for bankruptcy in U.S.

* Alliance seeks Chapter 15 protection

* Larger lender, BTA Bank, made similar filing

* Protection sought while bank restructures in Kazakhstan (Corrects case citation number)

NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Alliance Bank ASBN.KZ, one of Kazakhstan's largest lenders, filed on Tuesday for U.S. bankruptcy law protection to shield its assets from creditors in the United States, while it restructures more than $5 billion of debt at home.

Kazakhstan's sixth-largest bank sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Alliance's filing came less than two weeks after BTA Bank BTAS.KZ, the country's second-largest bank, filed for similar protection.

Both lenders are based in Almaty, and are among several Kazakh banks that have had capital struggles. They sought protection with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

Non-U.S. companies use Chapter 15 to block creditors who want to file lawsuits or tie up assets in the United States.

Alliance is owned by Kazakh's state-owned Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, and controls about 4.9 percent of banking assets in Kazakhstan, court filings show.

Maxat Rakhimzhanovich Kabashev, who is Alliance's chairman, said in a court filing that the bank has struggled with "severe liquidity difficulties" and "serious deterioration" in the quality of its loan portfolio.

He said the Chapter 15 petition was necessary "to prevent the risk of parties taking action against the bank or seeking attachments over the bank's assets that are located in the United States, which would disrupt its operations and the implementation of the restructuring plan."

Kabashev said he expects the bank to complete its restructuring in March.

The case is In re: JSC Alliance Bank, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-10761. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)