ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 21. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) plans to cap the maximum total debt of individual borrowers at eight times their annual income, Trend reports via the NBK.
This macroprudential measure will be enforced through the Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio, with the regulatory limit set to officially take effect on January 1, 2027. The relevant amendments have been drafted under a National Bank Board resolution aimed at updating financial stability metrics and calculation methods.
The DTI framework, which has been under a monitoring period since its introduction in August 2024, measures a borrower's total outstanding and prospective loans against their annual earnings to assess repayment capacity before credit approval.
While a general ceiling will be established, the central bank does not currently plan to set separate, differentiated DTI limits for individual loan categories, citing signs of cooling in consumer lending. Instead, the regulator will maintain broader monitoring across key segments, including auto loans, mortgages, and unsecured consumer loans.
However, the National Bank reserved the right to introduce product-specific DTI caps or tighten the overall ratio in the future if retail lending risks escalate. Meanwhile, the parameters for the currently utilized Debt Service-to-Income (DSTI) ratio will remain unchanged for the time being.
