The National Bank of Kazakhstan set the base rate at 16.25% annually, prompting 11 banks to cut deposit rates, while annual inflation may drop below 10% for the first time. Kazakhstani issuers increased their yuan bond offerings: Kcell and Kazakhtelecom are shifting their securities from tenge, and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan launched bookbuilding for dim sum bonds. In Uzbekistan, Single QR appeared in the Tenge24 app and on the country's buses, while HUMO announced a partnership with Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank.
The Main Stories
National Bank of Kazakhstan cuts rate to 16.25%, banks slash deposit rates The Monetary Policy Committee set the base rate at 16.25% annually with a +/- 1.0 pp corridor. Following this, 11 banks cut rates on retail deposits, extending the correction across all deposit segments after the July base rate reduction to 16.75%.
Inflation in Kazakhstan may drop below 10% for the first time Analysts at the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan expect August inflation to hit 9.8–9.9%, driven by a seasonal drop in food prices, tight monetary conditions, and a stronger tenge. This is an early signal that the National Bank’s rate easing aligns with an actual slowdown in prices rather than working against it.
Kazakhstani companies shift to yuan bonds on AIX Kcell and Kazakhtelecom are switching their bond currency from tenge to yuan and changing from floating to fixed coupons. Meanwhile, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan started bookbuilding for two dim sum bond issues with 5- and 10-year maturities and indicative coupons of 2.9% and 3.4%. Three issuers opted for yuan funding in a single week.
HUMO and Halyk Bank announce partnership in Kazakhstan Uzbek payment system HUMO is preparing a joint project with Kazakhstan’s largest bank. For HUMO—a payment system competing domestically with Uzcard—this marks an entry into the neighboring country’s card market.
Startup Alaqan sues Kaspi Bank over payment service name Alaqan Group Limited is demanding a ban on Kaspi Bank using the name Kaspi Alaqan for its palm payment service, citing an earlier trademark registration. The brand dispute between a small startup and the country’s largest bank could determine who has the right to use the biometric service name in the palm payment market.
By Country
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
Regulation. The National Bank raised its inflation forecast for 2027 to 6.5–8.5% due to rising external inflation and fiscal stimulus. The government budgeted an exchange rate of 480 tenge per dollar for 2027–2029—11% stronger than last year’s forecast. The UAPF stopped accepting applications for asset management by Halyk Global Markets, which gave notice to terminate its contract from 2027. The Consumer Protection Agency reviewed 15,100 complaints since the start of the year. AFSA warned about fraudsters posing as Venera Capital and about a fake website for Atlas Capital Limited.
Payments. Kaspi.kz added a military registration certificate to its superapp for Kazakhstanis aged 17 and older. Startup Alaqan sued Kaspi Bank over the name of its palm payment service.
Loans and Mortgages. Banks issued 3.8 trillion tenge in new loans in July, up 10.7% year-on-year. Small business financing grew by 21.2% to 4.6 trillion tenge, and medium business financing rose by 56.2% to 1.9 trillion. Otbasy Bank launched a solvency check for mortgages in Aktobe, explained a glitch during the launch of the “Umai” women’s program, and issued its first loan under the program for 20.3 million tenge to an Aktau resident; the bank also raised the rate on its AQYL savings deposit to 13.4%. ForteBank and BI Group launched a joint mortgage program with a down payment starting at 20%. The portfolio of MFIs, pawnshops, and credit partnerships decreased by 0.6% to 3.1 trillion tenge.
Banks and Deposits. Second-tier banks earned 1.396 trillion tenge in net profit over seven months, down 14.9% year-on-year. Bereke Bank lost 15.9 billion tenge in retail deposits in July—the largest outflow among Kazakhstani banks. ForteBank attracted 157.8 billion tenge in corporate deposits, while corporate deposits across all banks reached 21.1 trillion tenge. Remittances from Kazakhstan abroad fell by 14.1 billion tenge year-on-year, to 56.4 billion tenge in July.
Capital Market. Kcell and Kazakhtelecom are shifting bonds from tenge to yuan, and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan conducted bookbuilding for 5- and 10-year dim sum bonds. Capital Leasing Group placed 339.3 million tenge in bonds on KASE at 22.5% annually, and trading for $4 million in UNICREDO MFI bonds opens on September 7. CenterCredit announced a share buyback of 6.8 million shares at an 8% discount, while Solidcore overtook KASE in trading volume on AIX. Rating agencies upgraded outlooks for several players: S&P upgraded Freedom Bank’s rating to BB-, and Moody’s assigned the bank a Ba3 rating for the first time; S&P improved the outlook for Freedom Holding Corp to positive and raised the assessment of the banking sector’s country risk in BICRA; Moody’s assigned insurer Freedom Life its first investment-grade rating of Baa3. KASE and AIFB signed a memorandum on developing Islamic finance.
International. President Tokayev supported China’s initiative to create an SCO Development Bank at the SCO summit in Bishkek.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
Payments. Single QR continues to expand: Tenge Bank added support for it in the Tenge24 app, and ATTO launched QR code fare payments on buses. Click focused on promoting cashless payments for everyday spending.
Regulation and Market. UzIMEI registered 97.8 million device IMEI codes, collecting over 3 trillion soums. The President will allow up to $10,000 in cash to be taken out of the country without a declaration. Winvestment Consult voluntarily ceased operations as an investment consultant. Bank deposits grew by 34% to 482.7 trillion soums, and the volume of financial services increased by 16.7% to 125.8 trillion soums over seven months.
Deals. Uzbekistan accounted for 76% of CIS venture deals in the first half of the year—44 out of 58, thanks to the Yoshlar Ventures, Aloqa Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Imkon Ventures funds. HUMO announced a partnership with Halyk Bank in Kazakhstan.
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
Regulation. The National Bank suspended the licenses of three exchange bureaus in Osh for legal violations.
Payments. MBANK deployed MPay contactless payments, which work without the internet, at the World Nomad Kitchen festival in Issyk-Kul.
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
Spitamen Bank opened a branch in Kushoniyon, expanding access to banking services for the local population.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
Baku Stock Exchange and PASHA Capital launched market making for International Bank of Azerbaijan shares starting August 31.
Regulators of the Week
The National Bank of Kazakhstan cut the base rate to 16.25%, and the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan suspended the licenses of three exchange bureaus in Osh. AFSA warned twice in one week about fraud under fake licenses: Venera Capital and Atlas Capital Limited. KASE and AIFB signed a memorandum on developing Islamic finance in the Kazakhstani market.
On the Radar
Starting September 7, KASE opens trading for UNICREDO MFI bonds with a face value of $100, totaling $4 million at 12% annually. On the same date, the rate on the AQYL deposit at Otbasy Bank will rise to 13.4% annually. CenterCredit’s share buyback program runs until the end of 2026.
