At the XIV Congress of Financiers of Kazakhstan in Almaty, Madina Abylkassymova, chair of Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, discussed proposals to expand infrastructure lending and a digitalization and artificial intelligence strategy being developed for 2027-2030. The agency is considering allowing future regulated revenues to serve as collateral for energy and utility modernization loans. Bonds tied to specific investment projects could attract institutional investors and provide banks with funding over longer maturities, while banks’ participation in syndicated financing is to expand. These proposals follow a shift in lending: new business loans increased 19.5% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, while lending to individuals fell 4.3%.
The digital strategy would support artificial intelligence use across customer service, risk assessment and supervision. A separate consumer protection initiative concerns the financial ombudsman, which is due to begin operating on Jan. 1, 2027, as a unified venue for resolving disputes outside court. A planned FinKomek platform will provide an AI assistant and digital services for debt resolution and complaints. Fraud safeguards will include enhanced monitoring and rapid account blocking when threats are detected.
The nonbank reforms build on the approved 2026-2030 capital market program, which seeks to expand securities financing alongside bank lending. The draft Capital Market Law would extend regulation to derivatives and digital financial assets and introduce a single window at the Central Depository. The insurance development program through 2030 contains 18 initiatives, including 12 to be implemented through a new Insurance Market Law. Proposed changes include a unified compulsory insurance system and mandatory home insurance against natural disasters. Both markets’ reforms would be accompanied by updates to risk-based supervision.