The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan has published its key 2026 supervisory priorities for the microfinance sector, setting out a risk-based approach intended to strengthen sector stability, improve supervisory effectiveness, and increase the transparency and predictability of regulatory action. Supervisory resources will be focused on introducing and embedding requirements for risk management systems in microfinance organisations, operationalising self-regulation in microfinance and debt collection, and further developing proportional regulation based on firms’ business models and risk profiles. The plan also covers new requirements to prevent unfair practices, stronger protection of financial services consumers including monitoring compliance with consumer microcredit legislation, digitisation of supervisory processes and enhanced risk-profiling analytics, and thematic inspections in higher-risk areas. Supervision will prioritise entities where risks have been identified and systemic practices capable of affecting household debt burdens. Implementation measures include moving to a two-tier supervisory system by transferring certain functions to self-regulatory organisations alongside the new risk management requirements, and adopting subordinate regulations to introduce conduct supervision, improve the procedure for granting microcredits, and strengthen mechanisms to protect borrowers’ rights.

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