The special reserve of the Kazakhstan Deposit Insurance Fund (KDIF) has nearly reached 1.8 trillion tenge — money set aside to pay depositors if a bank loses its license, infohub.kz reports.

Total household deposits recently hit 30.6 trillion tenge, an all-time record. Notably, most of the money is held in tenge rather than foreign currency.

Bank deposits are protected by the KDIF, which builds a special reserve in case a bank loses its license. The money is not used to rescue the bank but to return funds to its depositors. According to the KDIF, the special reserve now holds almost 1.8 trillion tenge, or 5.9% of total deposits — above the 5% requirement.

It was reported earlier that around 99.8% of all deposits in Kazakh banks are fully protected.

KDIF guarantees apply within set limits: 10 million tenge for demand and term deposits in tenge and for current accounts; 20 million tenge for savings deposits; and 5 million tenge (in tenge equivalent) for foreign-currency accounts.

Among tenge deposits opened in Kazakh banks, the breakdown by type is as follows: 10.6% are savings deposits with enhanced KDIF protection; 25.6% are term deposits; 49.3% are demand deposits and money in bank accounts and on cards; 13.6% are targeted deposits in the housing construction savings and state education savings systems; and 0.9% are floating-rate deposits.

If a bank closes, depositors are repaid within the limits. If a depositor holds several accounts in different currencies, the total is repaid subject to the limit for each type of deposit. Guarantees apply to each bank separately.

The deposit insurance system does not draw on the state budget. The money comes from contributions by second-tier banks themselves and from investment income, with the accumulated funds placed in various financial instruments: 74% in bonds of Kazakhstan's public and quasi-public sector; 14% in money market instruments; 9% in foreign-currency instruments (US Treasury bonds); and 3% in bonds of international financial organizations.

As of the end of September 2026, accumulated investment income stood at 1.1 trillion tenge. By comparison, total contributions from participating banks reached 0.7 trillion tenge. Investment income thus already exceeds bank contributions, at a ratio of roughly 5:3.

The fund therefore holds substantial savings to meet its obligations to depositors. However, the reserve is not intended to cover every household deposit without exception — payout amounts depend on the statutory guarantee limits.