For one in three borrowers in Kazakhstan, a monthly loan payment of more than 100,000 tenge has become a familiar figure. These are the findings of a survey on inflation expectations conducted by the research company FusionLab on behalf of the National Bank, according to infohub.kz.
The study covered 1,500 residents over the age of 18 from every region of the country.
According to the data, among respondents with loans, the largest group — 33.5% — pays more than 100,000 tenge a month on credit. For comparison, in June that figure stood at 37.7%.
Another 9.6% of those surveyed make payments in the range of 90,000 to 100,000 tenge. Smaller amounts are less common: 7.3% of borrowers pay between 20,000 and 30,000 tenge, while 7.5% pay between 10,000 and 20,000.
Most Kazakhs do not plan to take out new loans in the next 12 months. Asked whether they intended to take out a loan or buy goods in installments, 64.9% of respondents said no. Financial caution has grown in recent months: in June, 63.5% of those surveyed had no plans to take on new debt.
Some 21.4% are ready to take out a new loan or make a purchase on credit within the year, up from 20.1% in June. Another 13.7% were undecided.
At the same time, 69% of Kazakhs surveyed already have loans — one percentage point less than at the end of the first half of the year. The most common type of borrowing is the consumer loan for buying goods, held by 29.6% of Kazakhs, followed by installment plans at 22.8%.
Almost 15% of respondents had taken out loans for urgent needs — celebrations, medical treatment or travel. In June, that figure was 17%. Another 12.4% had borrowed from microfinance organizations (MFOs), while 11% have mortgages. The share of the latter fell by 1.5 percentage points.
The share of car loans also declined slightly: 8.9% of respondents now have one, compared with 9.7% previously.