National Bank of Kazakhstan introduces countercyclical capital buffer in consumer banking segmentAt a meeting of the Financial Stability Council of Kazakhstan it was decided to introduce a sectoral countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) in the consumer lending segment, according to a commentary by Olzhas Kubenbayev, Director of the Financial Stability and Research Department of the National Bank, distributed by the National Bank's press service.According to the report, the CCB has been set "at 2% of risk-weighted assets in the consumer credit segment."Second-tier banks will start complying with this requirement from April 1,2026. Banks have thus been given a transitional period of 12 months to build up capital and meet the requirements of the new sectoral CCB. This requirement will be introduced for banks in addition to the current capital adequacy standards," Kubenbayev said.He notes that the current state of the banking sector is assessed as "stable, with a significant liquidity reserve, high quality of the loan portfolio, adequate level of capital and sustainable profitability indicators". "However, there are signs of overheating in consumer lending, as evidenced by the rapid growth rates of banks' retail loan portfolios, including in comparison with other areas of lending," the National Bank department head notes.According to him, over the past three years, consumer loans have grown by an average of 27% per year, while the growth rate of loans to businesses, including individual entrepreneurs, was 17%. Consumer credit continues to be the main contributor to the growth of credit to the population,increasing by an average of 31% per year.Another indicator widely used in international practice to detect signs of overheating in credit, the National Bank pointed out, is the deviation of the credit-to-GDP ratio from its long-term trend, the so-called credit-to-GDP gap. The transition of this indicator into the positive zone usually indicates the accumulation of systemic risks, taking into account the upward phase of the credit cycle.Kubenbayev believes that the formation of a sectoral CBC will increase the banking sector's resilience to potential crisis phenomena in the future.The National Bank of Kazakhstan will continue to monitor systemic risks and, if necessary, adjust the buffer parameters in line with changing conditions. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX