ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 29. Kazakhstan’s Majilis, the lower house of Parliament, has given the green light to the amendments put forth by the Senate (the upper house) regarding the draft law on banks and banking activity, Trend reports, citing the Majilis.
At a meeting held on December 25, senators conceptually supported the law “On Banks and Banking Activity,” as well as the accompanying draft law on regulation and development of the financial market, communications, and bankruptcy. During the review, a number of new revisions to individual articles were proposed.
The amendments delineate foundational and comprehensive banking
license frameworks designed to foster a more resilient and
competitive financial ecosystem. Should a financial institution
surpass the designated asset threshold, it must either reconfigure
its foundational license to a universal classification while
adhering to prudential regulations or undertake measures to
decrease its asset portfolio.
The statute elucidates stipulations regarding remuneration
structures for financial institution lending operations. Financial
institutions will be permitted to levy commissions strictly within
the parameters explicitly delineated by statutory provisions,
eschewing any broad or expansive interpretative frameworks.
Moreover, a prohibition has been instituted regarding the
unilateral modification of fixed interest rates pertaining to
consumer banking loans.
A centralized office for a singular financial ombudsman will be
established to facilitate pre-litigation dispute resolution across
banking, insurance, and microfinance sectors, with a specific focus
on issues pertaining to problematic debt scenarios.
In accordance with the newly instituted regulatory framework,
financial institutions will be mandated to uphold fiduciary duties
to their clientele, necessitating the restitution of funds in
instances where a transaction is executed to a recipient identified
within the anti-fraud intelligence repository as exhibiting
indicators of fraudulent activity.
The remote execution of banking loan contracts with individuals,
absent biometric verification protocols, has been deemed
impermissible.
Specifications have been established for the creation and upkeep of
a “data showcase” to facilitate oversight, proactive risk
identification, and secure data interchange.
The legislative modifications delineate a prohibition on the
appropriation of capital earmarked for disbursements to
beneficiaries of exigencies, in addition to resources allocated for
facilitating interbank settlements and card transaction
processes.
Enhanced surveillance mechanisms for currency transactions have
been implemented to mitigate illicit capital flight. The
modifications elucidate the jurisdictional authority of sanctioned
entities and delineate the protocols for data interchange among
financial institutions.
Furthermore, the stipulations regarding self-regulatory frameworks
within the microfinance and debt recovery domains have been
meticulously enhanced, encompassing protocols that delineate the
temporal parameters and methodologies for the assessment of
consumer grievances, while duly considering the jurisdictional
expertise of the financial ombudsman.
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