Sberbank wants seat on Kazakh bank board-bank owner

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 18 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned bank Sberbank SBER03.MM is seeking a seat on the board of failed Kazakh bank BTA BTAS.KZ, the head of Kazakhstan's national welfare fund, Kairat Kelimbetov, said on Friday.

"The talks are only with Sberbank," Kelimbetov, who also has a seat on Sberbank's supervisory board, told Reuters. "We are formulating a plan for the next 2-3 years."

The welfare fund owns BTA. Sberbank has been in talks to take over the bankrupt Kazakh lender, one of the largest in the oil rich central Asian state. If it takes a board seat it would likely signal the takeover is ready to proceed. (Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; editing by Melissa Akin)