Kazakhstan Parliament passes law tightening loan requirements

ASTANA. May 29 (Interfax) - The Mazhilis (lower house) of the Parliament of Kazakhstan agreed with Senate amendments to the bill "On introducing amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the issues of minimizing risks in lending, protecting the rights of borrowers, regulating the financial market and improving enforcement proceedings" at a plenary meeting on Wednesday.

According to procedure, the document was sent to the head of state for signature.

The document establishes requirements that encourage creditors to pursue a restrained credit policy and take measures to resolve the problem debts of citizens. Therefore, a moratorium on the assignment of loans to collectors through May 1, 2026 is being introduced. This is being done to ensure that banks and microfinance organizations work to settle citizens' debts independently.

Banks and microfinance organizations are prohibited from providing electronic loans to individuals without the client providing biometric identification.

There is a ban on providing loans to citizens if they have loans over 90 days overdue, and there is a ban on providing loans without spousal consent as well.

The document establishes the concept of "consumer credit," the size of which will be determined by a decision from the National Bank.

For online microloans of up to 45 days for amounts of up to 50 monthly calculation indices (MCI, one MCI is equal to 3,692 tenge in 2024), it is proposed to cancel special conditions for them and establish a maximum annual effective interest rate to be determined by the National Bank.

The bill defines the "Stop Credit" option, which provides for a voluntary restriction on individuals receiving loans. According to this norm, an individual has the right to establish a voluntary refusal to receive bank loans or withdraw it using the country's "electronic government" web portal.

The official exchange rate as of May 29 is 441.59 tenge/$1.