A two-year moratorium on the sale of non-performing loans by banks and microfinance companies to debt collectors was adopted in the first reading by deputies of Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Parliament, QazMonitor reports.
What it means: Madina Abylkassymova, the Chairperson of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, spoke to the press and outlined the key measures proposed in the moratorium.
The bill proposes banning the sale of problem consumer loans to collectors.
If a customer of a bank or microfinance company is ninety days overdue, those organizations cannot transfer or sell the client's loan data to collection agencies for two years.
Background: Deputy Unzila Shapak provided data on the financial status of the population as of January 1, 2024. Around 8.5 million people have debts to financial institutions, totaling $42.5 billion (as of March 7, 2024, ₸19 trillion). Among them, 8.2 million citizens owe money on unsecured consumer loans, amounting to $22.3 billion (₸10 trillion). Additionally, 1.6 million borrowers have problem loans totaling $3.8 billion (₸1.7 trillion), which are overdue by more than ninety days.