The volume of retail deposits in Kazakhstan has exceeded 30 trillion tenge, with foreign currency deposits accounting for less than 20% of the total. Almost all of the growth (96%) came from tenge deposits, reports infohub.kz.
It was previously reported that the total amount of funds placed by Kazakhstanis in bank deposits exceeded the 30 trillion tenge mark for the first time. According to the Kazakhstan Deposit Insurance Fund (KDIF), in the second quarter of 2026, the increase amounted to 1.9 trillion tenge, an absolute record in the history of the deposit insurance system. Over the year, deposits increased by 4.6 trillion tenge. Notably, almost all of the growth (96%) came from deposits in the national currency.
Experts attribute this trend to high interest rates on deposits. With the base rate at 18%, banks offered up to 20–20.5% per annum on certain products. As for foreign currency deposits, they grew by only 25.6 billion tenge in the second quarter. Moreover, a significant part of their increase in tenge terms was due to currency revaluation rather than actual inflows. As a result, the share of foreign currency deposits fell to a record low of 19.8%. For comparison, in 2015, the share of foreign currency deposits reached 80%.
Almost half of all deposits (49.3%) are in accounts with balances up to 15 million tenge. This is the so-called mass segment, and its share is steadily declining. For context, in 2021, it accounted for 55.1% of all funds. Meanwhile, the share of the middle segment, holding between 15 and 50 million tenge, has grown. In 2021, it accounted for only 12.2%, but now it is 19.2%. The large segment (with balances over 50 million tenge) accounts for 31.5% of savings.
According to analysts, the increase in the share of the middle segment indicates a gradual rise in depositors' wealth and points to intensifying competition among banks for affluent clients. It is worth noting that the National Bank has lowered the base rate, and second-tier banks have followed suit by cutting deposit rates. However, experts believe this will not lead to a decline in the deposit base or a significant slowdown in its growth – for the population, bank deposits remain the primary savings tool.