The National Bank of Kazakhstan has presented changes to the rules for calculating macroprudential norms for banks and branches of foreign banks, which will affect the procedure for assessing borrowers' solvency and their debt burden. The corresponding resolution of the Board of the National Bank dated July 31, 2026, has not yet come into force, reports infohub.kz.
Currently, Kazakhstan has a debt burden ratio (DBR) — the ratio of a person's monthly payments on all loans to their average monthly income. Its maximum value is set at 0.5. Consequently, payments on all loans of a Kazakhstani citizen must not exceed half of their monthly income.
One of the key changes concerns auto loans. Until the end of 2026, a number of loans for purchasing cars will be exempt from DBR requirements. The exemption is extended to new cars first registered in Kazakhstan, as well as used cars, provided that down payment requirements are met. For used cars, the down payment must be at least 50% of the car's value, and for cars up to three years old — at least 30%.
The National Bank also clarified the criteria for borrowers considered actively involved in gambling. This category will include individuals who, over the last six completed months, have made at least six payments to gambling organizers totaling over 300,000 tenge. For such borrowers, as well as for recipients of targeted social assistance, banks will be able to consider only official income when calculating solvency.
In addition, the document introduces a separate procedure for calculating the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for different types of loans. DTI is the ratio of a person's total outstanding debt to their annual income. Banks will calculate DTI in three stages: first, assess the borrower's solvency; then calculate for a specific type of loan (consumer, mortgage, auto loan); and finally, for the borrower's entire debt.
The changes also affect the procedure for confirming income. Banks will be able to use several sources of information, but must check data for duplication of income and artificial inflation of solvency through transfers between the client's own accounts. To calculate average monthly income, only those types of income that the borrower received in at least two of the last six months will be considered. An exception is made for certain types of income confirmed by tax reporting.
The National Bank also clarified the procedure for calculating debt on credit cards. The monthly payment on a card with a credit limit will be determined as 10% of the used limit. The document for the first time details the concepts of credit line, credit limit, and borrower. In addition, banks are required to calculate the debt burden ratio not only when issuing a new loan, but also when increasing the credit limit, issuing an additional loan, or changing loan terms if this leads to an increase in the client's payments.
The resolution will come into force ten calendar days after its first official publication. Earlier, Kursiv reported that the National Bank purchased $375 million in currency for the UAPF.