Kazakh Kazkommertsbank repays $450 mln loan

ALMATY, March 3 (Reuters) - Kazkommertsbank (KKGByq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Kazakhstan's No.1 bank, said on Monday it had repaid an outstanding $450 million of a syndicated loan of $850 million.

Kazakh banks have faced a shortage of liquidity after the global squeeze, prompting concerns about their ability to repay foreign debt.

"The loan was agreed in August 2006 for a total of $850 million and in August 2007 the bank initiated a partial ($400 million) prepayment of the loan," Kazkommerts said in a statement.

Kazakh banks will need to repay a total of about $12 billion this year with little access to fresh funding. (Writing by Olzhas Auyezov)