Kazakh business FX loan arrears jump 7.7 times to $182.6 million in 2025

September 22, 2026 at 08:40 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Overdue foreign-currency loans of Kazakh companies surged 7.7 times to $182.6 million in 2025, according to the Eurasian Economic Commission. Total corporate arrears rose 51.7% to $902 million. The increase came even as banks expanded FX lending to businesses by 35.4% to $10.9 billion.

Key Facts

Overdue foreign-currency loans of Kazakh companies reached $182.6 million at the end of 2025, up 7.7 times year-on-year.
Long-term FX loan arrears jumped 51 times to $168.6 million, while short-term FX arrears fell 31.2% to $14 million.
Total corporate loan arrears across all currencies rose 51.7% to $902 million in 2025.
The corporate FX loan portfolio expanded 35.4% to $10.9 billion in 2025, with long-term FX loans up 41.1% to $8.2 billion.
Bank loans to small and medium-sized businesses grew almost 12% since the start of 2026 to 12.4 trillion tenge as of August 1, while large business lending fell 5.9%.

FX Loan Arrears

Overdue foreign-currency loans of Kazakh companies reached $182.6 million at the end of 2025, a 7.7-fold increase from the previous year. Long-term FX loan arrears surged 51 times to $168.6 million, accounting for more than 92% of all FX arrears. Short-term FX loan arrears fell 31.2% to $14 million over the same period. At the end-2025 exchange rate of 502.57 tenge per dollar, FX arrears equalled about 91.8 billion tenge.

Corporate Lending Trends

The total corporate loan portfolio in Kazakhstan grew 26.2% to $36.8 billion in 2025. Foreign-currency corporate debt rose faster, up 35.4% to $10.9 billion, with long-term FX loans up 41.1% to $8.2 billion. Wholesale and retail trade had the largest arrears among sectors at $326.4 million, followed by manufacturing at $169.3 million and accommodation and food services at $141.1 million.

SME Credit Expansion

Bank loans to small and medium-sized businesses reached 12.4 trillion tenge as of August 1, 2026, up almost 12% since the start of the year. Small business lending rose 13% to 9.2 trillion tenge, while medium business lending grew 8.8% to 3.2 trillion tenge. Large business lending contracted 5.9% over the same period, while total bank lending to the economy rose 5.2% and household lending rose 5.5%.