ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 11. The National Bank of Kazakhstan has begun gradually increasing the minimum reserve requirements (MRR) for banks starting from July 25 of this year, Trend reports via the Kazakhstan’s National Bank.
According to the information, this decision is aimed at strengthening financial stability and will be implemented in stages over the course of the year to give banks time to adapt.
Under the new rules, the reserve requirements for tenge-denominated liabilities will be increased to 3.5-5 percent, and for foreign currency liabilities, to 10-15 percent. For comparison, previously, Kazakhstan’s minimum reserve requirements were among the lowest in the region—around 1.3 percent for tenge-denominated liabilities and 2.5 percent for foreign currency liabilities.
This resolution is predicated on a comprehensive examination of
the global practices of monetary authorities within the EAEU,
Central Asia, and the Caucasus region. The mean monthly recurring
revenue (MRR) across these jurisdictions hovers around 4-4.5
percent for domestic currency obligations, while foreign currency
liabilities exhibit a markedly elevated rate of approximately 15
percent, substantially surpassing the prevailing benchmarks
established in Kazakhstan.
According to the regulatory body, the primary objective of
augmenting the baseline reserve requirements is to mitigate
inflationary pressures, steering them towards the predetermined
target threshold of 5 percent. This initiative will bolster the
tenge's purchasing power and facilitate enduring economic
expansion.
In order to elucidate and delineate the modifications, the National
Bank convened a series of symposia with market stakeholders.
