Over the past six years, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has radically changed its approach to banking supervision in Kazakhstan: instead of reacting to problems after they arise, the regulator has focused on early identification of risks. Banks now regularly undergo asset quality reviews and stress tests, and capital requirements directly depend on the risks of each institution. These principles have been enshrined in the new banking law, according to infohub.kz.
ARDFM is a state body regulating Kazakhstan's financial market. The agency sets requirements for banks, insurance companies, microfinance organizations (MFOs), debt collectors, and securities market participants; issues and revokes licenses; and monitors financial stability and legal compliance. Its tasks include protecting client rights, reducing risks to the financial system, curbing unfair practices, and creating conditions for competition and new financial products.
The agency began work in January 2020 under the leadership of Madina Abylkassymova. At that time, Kazakhstan had 27 banks with assets of 26.5 trillion tenge, and loans overdue for more than 90 days accounted for 8.4%. According to the National Bank as of July 1, 2026, there are 23 banks operating in the country with assets of 74.2 trillion tenge, meaning the sector has grown by about 2.8 times. The NPL90+ ratio fell to 4.1%, which is 4.3 percentage points below the level at the start of 2020.
The growth of banking sector assets is largely driven by inflation, economic activity, and demand for credit. However, capital, liquidity, and asset quality indicators directly reflect the resilience of banks that ARDFM monitors. As of July 1, 2026, banks' total equity reached 11.2 trillion tenge. According to ARDFM data as of June 1, the core capital adequacy ratio was 19.8% and total capital adequacy was 20.5%. Highly liquid assets reached 21 trillion tenge, or 28.8% of bank assets.
One of ARDFM's main achievements has been the introduction of risk-based supervision. The agency regularly conducts asset quality reviews (AQR), supervisory stress tests, and assessments of banks under the SREP methodology. The checks cover not only compliance with prudential norms, but also a bank's business model, corporate governance, asset quality, capital adequacy, and ability to withstand adverse scenarios. In 2025, stress testing covered 11 of the largest banks, which accounted for 86% of assets and 87% of the sector's loan portfolio. Under the stress scenario, the aggregate core capital adequacy ratio of these banks stood at 16.1%, against a minimum requirement of 5.5%. As a result of the review, each bank was assigned an individual capital buffer of 0% to 3%, which is taken into account when restricting dividend payments.
Earlier, ARDFM and the International Monetary Fund discussed the stability of the banking system, improving resolution mechanisms for troubled banks, and introducing international supervisory standards. Particular attention was paid to the new banking law, implementation of FSAP recommendations, development of the financial safety net, the shift to risk-based supervision of securities market participants, and strengthening investor protection.
ARDFM has changed the terms for banks that previously received state support. In 2023, legislation was passed restricting dividend payments by banks that retain state aid funds, and a mechanism for early repayment of such funds was launched. Since the start of the financial stability program, Kazakhstan's banks have returned about 738.2 billion tenge to the state. Halyk Bank repaid 250 billion tenge, Bank RBK repaid 243.7 billion tenge, Bank CenterCredit repaid 60 billion tenge, Alatau City Bank repaid 150 billion tenge, Eurasian Bank repaid 30 billion tenge, and Nurbank repaid 4.5 billion tenge. At the beginning of 2026, 1.112 trillion tenge remained outstanding: Alatau City Bank owed 950.2 billion tenge, Eurasian Bank owed 120 billion tenge, and Nurbank owed 42.3 billion tenge.
In July, Alatau City Bank announced early repayment of another 125.3 billion tenge. After this operation is completed, the debt of the three banks to the state should shrink to about 987.2 billion tenge, of which about 824.9 billion tenge will be owed by Alatau City Bank. The link between state support and dividends has changed owners' incentives: as long as state funds remain in a bank, shareholders are restricted in distributing profits. This approach was later developed into a new mechanism for dealing with insolvent banks.
The new law "On Banks and Banking Activities" was signed on January 16, 2026. The draft was developed jointly by ARDFM and the National Bank, so it would be incorrect to attribute its preparation solely to the agency. At the same time, a significant part of the document enshrines the supervisory approaches that ARDFM has been developing since 2020. The law introduced a model of basic and universal banking licenses, behavioral supervision, and a new system for resolving insolvent banks. For a troubled bank, three successive regimes are provided: enhanced supervision, restoration of financial stability, and insolvency resolution. Transitions between them are based on pre-established criteria.
The new model implies that a bank's losses are primarily covered by shareholders' equity and legally mandated investor liabilities. State support is seen as an exceptional measure for a systemically important bank and must be accompanied by restrictions on dividends and bonuses, a recovery plan, and subsequent repayment of state funds.
ARDFM has also established a mandatory system for resolving problem debt, under which the primary responsibility lies with the original lender. In 2025, financial institutions resolved citizens' debts worth 814.3 billion tenge: 740.4 billion tenge through restructuring and 73.8 billion tenge through full or partial write-offs. In addition, obligations of more than 142,500 socially vulnerable citizens were fully written off. In remote lending, voluntary bans on borrowing, cooling-off periods, enhanced biometric identification, and additional checks were introduced. More than 6.5 million citizens have set up voluntary credit bans. According to ARDFM, the volume of detected fraudulent loans fell from 20.3 billion tenge in 2024 to 4.6 billion tenge in 2025.
ARDFM has strengthened capital requirements for MFOs, introduced restrictions on the riskiest micro-loans, and tightened oversight. Since 2023, the agency has conducted 824 inspections of MFOs and collection agencies, applied 310 supervisory responses, and imposed 2,010 fines totaling 693.4 million tenge. Licenses were revoked from 99 MFOs, the licenses of 29 organizations were suspended, and 47 collection agencies were removed from the register. The main result of the six years is not the disappearance of risks, but the emergence of a system for their early detection. ARDFM received tools to regularly check bank asset quality, set individual capital requirements, restrict dividends when risks rise, and follow a pre-defined course of action when a bank's position deteriorates. The new law has enshrined this model at the legislative level.