The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan has proposed creating a new type of banking licence, a “basic” licence, in its draft Law on Banks and Banking Activity prepared on the President’s instructions. The agency frames the basic licence as a way to lower market-entry barriers for new banks, increase competition and support lending to the economy. Under the proposal, the basic licence would differ from a universal banking licence through restrictions on certain operations, a narrower permitted business scope and a prohibition on lending to related parties. The agency also plans to lower selected prudential requirements for basic-licence banks, including requirements relating to capital, liquidity and other indicators, and to reduce reporting requirements. Basic-licence banks would be subject to an asset-size cap, and reaching the set threshold would require the bank to obtain a universal licence; the agency notes that in other jurisdictions a basic licence is treated as an adaptation phase before moving to a universal model. Despite the simplifications, supervision would remain anchored in a core framework including the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) and on-site inspections, with adjustments reflecting the lighter risk-management requirements.

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