The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan presented to the Mazhilis draft changes to Kazakhstan’s banking law framework intended to raise the quality of bank corporate governance, improve supervisory mechanisms and streamline existing requirements. Key measures include tighter independence requirements for independent directors and a proposed nine-year maximum tenure on a bank’s board, an expanded list of persons connected to a bank through special relationships in line with International Financial Reporting Standards, and a cap of three years on how long foreclosed property can remain on a bank group’s balance sheet. The package would also broaden the use of the “motivated judgment” mechanism, introduce requirements for the heads of risk, internal audit and compliance functions, remove obsolete and duplicative rules, and consolidate shareholder and senior management requirements by moving them into the Law on State Regulation, Control and Supervision of the Financial Market and Financial Organisations. The drafts also refer to accommodating technological change, strengthening competition and market entry, promoting financial technology and liberalising the circulation of digital assets. The draft laws were prepared to implement the President’s 2024 and 2025 policy addresses and have been introduced for consideration in the Mazhilis.

Original source View in tracker