Kazakhstan won't let foreigners take over key banks

* Three Kazakh lenders negotiating debt restructuring

* Kazakh president-foreigners won't get controlling stakes

ALMATY, Nov 13 - Kazakhstan will not allow foreign investors to take over its key banks as a result of the financial crisis, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Friday.

Three Kazakh lenders, BTA <BTAS.KZ>, Alliance <ALLBq.L> and Astana Finance <ASFI.KZ>, have gone into default this year and are negotiating debt restructuring deals that typically involve giving creditors shares in exchange for debt write-offs.

"We will not allow foreign bankers to own systemically important banks," Nazarbayev told a televised question and answer session with Kazakh citizens.

Creditors of BTA, in particular, are seeking to get a controlling stake in the bank after the restructuring, but the bank, currently controlled by the state, has rejected their demands.

Nazarbayev added there were no fundamental reasons for a fresh devaluation of the national tenge <KZT=> currency. Kazakhstan devalued the tenge in February following a plunge in oil prices and devaluations in other ex-Soviet countries.