The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan published the outcomes of the latest Financial Stability Council meeting, including support for the National Bank’s proposal to activate a sectoral countercyclical capital buffer for the retail credit portfolio at 2%, effective from 1 April 2026. The update also signalled tighter capital adequacy requirements for microfinance organisations and confirmed approval of the list of banks covered by the 2025 regular asset quality review (AQR) and supervisory stress testing. The buffer activation was linked to excessive growth in lending to households. The Council also reviewed the architecture of internal and interagency anti-crisis plans in the context of implementing key recommendations from the Council and the International Monetary Fund’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) for Kazakhstan, with the plans intended to cover multiple scenarios and strengthen coordination across public authorities. For the AQR and stress-testing perimeter, asset and loan-portfolio data and non-performing loan ratios across all banks were analysed, and the Agency’s calculations supported keeping the scope unchanged; in 2024 the exercise covered 11 banks representing 85% of banking sector assets and 86% of the loan portfolio, with aggregate capital adequacy exceeding the regulatory minimum.

Original source View in tracker