Kazakhstan enacts law creating national credit rating agency

September 3, 2026 at 05:02 PM2 min

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Kazakhstan adopted a law on credit rating activities on July 23, 2026, establishing a national rating agency with the National Bank as a founder. The law, published August 21, creates three categories of rating agencies and requires methodology disclosure in Kazakh, Russian, and English.

Key Facts

The law was adopted on July 23, 2026, and published on August 21, 2026.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan will be a founder of the new Kazakhstani rating agency.
The law defines three categories of rating agencies: Kazakhstani, international, and foreign.
Rating methodologies must be publicly discussed and disclosed in Kazakh, Russian, and English.

National Rating Agency

The law establishes a Kazakhstani rating agency as a joint-stock company with the National Bank of Kazakhstan as one of its founders. The agency is intended to make rating services more accessible for Kazakhstani companies, including small and medium-sized businesses. A credit rating can serve as an independent assessment of a company's creditworthiness or the risk of its financial instruments. For investors, it provides an additional reference point, while for issuers it can enhance transparency in capital raising.

Regulatory Framework

Only agencies that meet the law's requirements may conduct credit rating activities in Kazakhstan. The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) may recognize international and foreign agencies, monitor compliance, and revoke recognition for violations. Kazakhstani agencies face specific requirements for capital, management, internal control, and disclosure of rating data. International agencies must be recognized by five OECD countries, while foreign agencies must be recognized by their home country's financial regulator.

Methodology Requirements

Every rating must be based on an approved methodology that matches the rating type and the industry of the assessed company. Methodologies must be regularly reviewed, and new methodology drafts must be publicly discussed on the agency's website. Disclosed information must be available in Kazakh, Russian, and English. Methodologies must account for key credit risks, allow comparison of results, and be validated against historical data.