ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Jan. 15 received Madina Abylkasymova, chairperson of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, to review 2025 results and outline priorities for 2026, including financial stability, increased business lending, and consumer protection.
Photo credit: Akorda
Abylkasymova reported that Kazakhstan’s banking sector remained stable, with assets rising 11% to 68.3 trillion tenge (US$133.4 billion) and capital adequacy at 20.7%. Business lending grew 17.9% to 14.8 trillion tenge (US$28.9 billion), with 17.5 trillion tenge (US$34.2 billion) in new loans issued and 505 billion tenge (US$986.4 million) in loan guarantees provided to small and medium-sized enterprises through the SME Loan Guarantee Fund, reported Akorda on Jan. 15.
Consumer lending slowed by half compared to 2024, with stricter rules on high-risk loans and debt-to-income limits introduced. Banks and microfinance organizations settled or partially forgave loans for 703,000 borrowers, including 209.7 billion tenge (US$410 million) under the personal bankruptcy mechanism. The Mortgage Loan Refinancing Program also supported 1,200 borrowers.
In 2025, the agency conducted extensive inspections across banks, insurance, securities, and microfinance sectors, imposing fines totaling 641.3 million tenge (1.3 million) and revoking or suspending licenses of multiple entities to combat financial fraud.
