Kazakh households spend half of income on debt payments
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Kazakh households now allocate half of their income to debt servicing, as total household debt surpasses 25 trillion tenge ($53 billion). The debt burden has risen sharply over the past year, driven by consumer lending and mortgage growth.
Debt-to-Income Ratio
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the debt-to-income ratio for households reached 50% in Q2 2026, up from 42% a year earlier. Total household debt stood at 25.3 trillion tenge as of July 1, 2026, with consumer loans accounting for 14.8 trillion tenge and mortgages for 8.9 trillion tenge. The average interest rate on consumer loans was 19.5%, while mortgage rates averaged 14.2%.
Drivers of Indebtedness
Rapid growth in consumer lending, particularly for durable goods and auto loans, has pushed debt levels higher. The government's subsidized mortgage program, '7-20-25', also contributed, with 1.2 trillion tenge in new mortgages issued in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, real wages grew only 5% year-on-year, lagging behind inflation of 8.3%.
Regulatory Response
The National Bank has tightened macroprudential measures, including higher risk weights for unsecured consumer loans and a cap on loan-to-value ratios for mortgages. In June 2026, it raised the base rate by 50 basis points to 13.5%, citing inflation risks. However, analysts at Halyk Finance argue that further rate hikes may be needed to curb credit growth.
What's Next
The National Bank is set to review the base rate again on August 15, 2026. It remains unclear whether additional tightening will be sufficient to slow debt accumulation without triggering a sharp rise in defaults.
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Kazakh households spend half of income on debt payments
