At the Central Asian Microfinance Forum in Almaty, Olzhas Kizatov, deputy chair of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan, outlined a shift from largely reactive microfinance oversight toward risk prevention, risk based supervision and greater responsibility for market participants. The regulator is moving to this next phase after bringing all microfinance providers under state supervision in 2020 and licensing the activity from 2021, changes that reduced the number of market participants by more than 80%. Kazakhstan now has 214 microfinance organizations, with assets of KZT 1.7 trillion and a KZT 1.5 trillion credit portfolio, of which about 40%, or more than KZT 580 billion, finances businesses. The supervisory priorities include stronger risk management and internal controls, with firms expected to assess their own risk profiles and identify risks in time to inform management decisions. Requirements will reflect each firm’s scale, business model and risk level, while reasoned supervisory judgment will assess the quality of risk management rather than formal compliance alone. A proposed two-tier self regulation model would give the professional community a role in monitoring standards and handling complaints, allowing the agency to focus on higher-risk firms and systemic breaches. Further priorities cover borrower safeguards when a microfinance organization ceases operating, action against fraudulent microloans, out-of-court dispute resolution and conduct supervision across the product lifecycle. The conduct focus is consistent with the broader product lifecycle and consumer protection framework the agency approved in July.

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