Kazakhstan’s bank assets surge 11% to ₸68.3T
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met on Thursday with Madina Abylkassymova, Chairperson of the Agency for Financial Market Regulation and Development, Qazinform News Agency has learned from the Akorda press service.
The Head of State was briefed on the results of the national financial sector development in 2025 and strategic objectives for the coming period.
According to the report presented at Akorda, the banking sector maintained its resilience throughout the past year, completing its annual supervisory assessment cycle. Total banking assets increased by 11%, reaching 68.3 trillion tenge, while capital adequacy is 20.7%.
Madina Abylkassymova also reported on a recently drafted Law on Banks, alongside updated legislation governing investment funds and credit rating activities.
On the economic front, lending to the business sector showed strong momentum, increasing by 17.9% as of November 2025 to reach KZT 14.8 trillion. Over the past year, banks issued KZT 17.5 trillion in new business loans and are currently co-financing eight major syndicated projects valued at KZT 2.3 trillion.
To support small and medium-sized enterprises, a dedicated SME Loan Guarantee Fund was established within the Damu Fund in June 2025. It has already issued KZT 505 billion in credit guarantees.
President Tokayev was informed that consumer lending growth slowed by 50% compared to 2024 levels. This follows a ban on loans exceeding 5 years for borrowers with existing arrears, and new restrictions on high-risk loans and those with terms of 3 to 5 years. Additionally, a new aggregate debt-to-income ratio has been established. To reduce household over-indebtedness, banks and microfinance organizations have conducted debt restructuring and partial forgiveness for 703,000 borrowers. Under the individual bankruptcy mechanism, financial institutions have cleared KZT 209.7 billion in debt for 56,000 citizens.
Through the Mortgage Loan Refinancing Program, support was provided to 1,200 borrowers. To combat financial fraud, a 'cooling-off period' for loan issuance has been legally mandated, along with a requirement for mandatory in-person attendance to obtain an initial loan. Furthermore, the grounds for both judicial and out-of-court debt cancellation have been expanded for cases involving fraudulent activity.
The Agency also ramped up its supervisory activities, conducting 49 on-site and documentary inspections of banks, 47 of insurance market participants, 54 within the securities market, and 260 of microfinance organizations and collection agencies. These efforts resulted in 628 supervisory measures and the imposition of fines totaling KZT 641.3 million. Within the microfinance and collection agency markets, 58 entities had their licenses revoked, including 23 through involuntary termination, while 9 other entities saw their licenses suspended.
Concluding the meeting, the Head of State issued several directives aimed at ensuring continued financial stability, expanding credit to the real economy, and further strengthening the protection of financial service consumers.
As Qazinform reported earlier today, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Sergey Ponomaryov, Chairman of the Association of Russian, Slavic and Cossack Organizations of Kazakhstan, and Majilis deputy.
