Foreign Banks Interested In Entering Kazakhstan's Market

Several foreign banks have begun showing interest in entering the Kazakh market, prompting the authorities to reduce regulatory barriers, Orda.kz reports.

Deputy Chair of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, Olzhas Kizatov, provided the update in the Senate corridors.

There is a certain interest from banks in Southeast Asia, from banks in Eastern Europe,
he said, though he declined to name the institutions, citing the absence of finalized agreements. 

Under current legislation, foreign financial institutions can only open branches in Kazakhstan if their total assets exceed $20 billion. However, over the past five years, no foreign bank has met this threshold.

In the five years that this regulation has been in effect, not a single foreign bank has opened a branch in Kazakhstan. It was proposed to reduce the requirement from 20 to 10 billion dollars. We think that reducing this requirement will speed up the process of these foreign banks entering the banking market of Kazakhstan.

This amendment is part of broader legislation aimed at developing the financial market, protecting consumer rights, and eliminating excessive regulatory norms.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova