BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 13. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has reviewed the implementation of monetary policy and key economic indicators for the period from January through July 2026.
According to the press service of the Kazakh president, the discussions took place during a meeting with National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov. He presented a report on the economic situation, business activity, inflation factors, lending dynamics, the state of Kazakhstan’s reserves, and measures aimed at maintaining price stability.
The National Bank chairman informed the President that annual inflation has been declining for the tenth consecutive month, reaching 10.2% in July 2026. According to the report, the trend has been supported by monetary policy measures, the strengthening of the tenge exchange rate, stabilization of consumer activity, and coordinated anti-inflation measures implemented by the Government and the National Bank.
Suleimenov also reported on lending trends, noting that as of July 1, 2026, the banking sector’s loan portfolio for businesses increased by 17.1% year-on-year, while lending to small and medium-sized enterprises grew by 29.6%. At the same time, consumer lending growth slowed from 21% at the beginning of the year to 13%, indicating a shift in credit resources toward business financing, according to the National Bank. "The Head of State was informed about the measures being taken to ensure price stability and achieve the medium-term inflation target of 5%," the press service stated.
The meeting also covered Kazakhstan’s foreign exchange market, the National Fund, the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund and international reserves. As of July 1, 2026, the combined volume of the National Fund and foreign exchange reserves amounted to $127.3 billion.
Suleimenov informed Tokayev about the implementation of measures related to the development of digital financial assets and national digital financial infrastructure. The new areas include the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments, the development of infrastructure for digital assets, and the issuance of tokenized government assets.
The National Bank has also introduced QR payments and transfers by phone number between customers of different banks as part of the National Payment System. Since the launch on July 19, the system has processed 6.5 million transactions worth 170 billion tenge ($365.7 million). Tokayev instructed the National Bank to continue efforts aimed at stabilizing inflation and developing Kazakhstan’s financial ecosystem, including measures related to the implementation of digital financial technologies.
