Kazakhstan tightens regulations for banks

Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan will introduce principles of responsible lending to help prevent people from falling into unmanageable debt, according to the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.

These changes will become part of a behavioral supervision system, which will help monitor how banks and other financial institutions interact with their clients.

“The Agency will have the authority to suspend the provision of financial products to consumers until identified risks or shortcomings in their management are resolved,” the statement said.

Requirements for advertising and information disclosure will be tightened, aiming to reduce fraud and deception.

Financial institutions will be required to assist clients in understanding their services and improving their financial literacy.

“Under the new approach, a financial organization must first review and respond to consumer complaints. If unresolved, the dispute can then be reviewed by the unified Financial Ombudsman Service, which now serves as the main mechanism for pre-court resolution of disputes in the financial market,” the agency added.

In simple terms: banks and other financial institutions in Kazakhstan will no longer be allowed to mislead customers. Behavioral supervision will detect risky or confusing financial products. If anything suspicious is found, the product will be suspended. This applies not only to loans, but also to advertising, terms, and customer complaints.