11 Major Kazakh Banks Face Audits Over Miscalculated Borrower Debt

Kazakhstan's Financial Market Regulation and Development Agency has launched regular inspections targeting 11 major commercial banks to assess how they calculate borrowers' debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. The watchdog aims to determine whether lenders are systematically underreporting existing liabilities to artificially streamline loan approvals.

The regulatory push follows a pilot audit of eight institutions, which uncovered significant inconsistencies in how banks measure an applicant's financial capacity. Moving forward, the agency will routinely evaluate whether credit institutions accurately factor in a client's monthly income alongside their existing debt obligations before issuing new credit.

The primary objective of these ongoing assessments is to curb household over-indebtedness, eliminate artificial suppression of debt metrics, and enforce a standardized DTI calculation methodology across the banking sector. If compliance violations are detected, the agency plans to enact regulatory sanctions and mandate corrective action plans. Findings from the nationwide audits will also be leveraged to refine statutory credit risk standards.