Minimum Reserve Requirements

Minimum reserve requirements (hereinafter – MRR) are a monetary policy instrument (hereinafter – MP) that regulates liquidity in the money market and contributes to its absorption in order to create demand and strengthen the impact on money market rates.

MRR represent the mandatory minimum level of funds that banks are required to hold either on their correspondent accounts with the central bank or in other liquid assets, for example, in the form of cash held in the bank’s own vaults. The required level is directly linked to the volume of a bank’s liabilities.

By increasing the requirements, the central bank absorbs excess liquidity and maintains money market liquidity at a level that ensures market rates move within the intended corridor and are formed close to the policy rate.

MRR in Kazakhstan

MRR must be complied with by all second-tier banks and branches of non-resident banks operating in Kazakhstan (hereinafter – banks).

Reserve assets are a bank’s funds in the national currency used to meet MRR. Reserve assets consist of cash, in an amount not exceeding 25% of the required MRR, and the balance on the bank’s correspondent account with the NBK.

The MRR calculation period is the period over which the bank’s liabilities included in the MRR calculation, as well as the required MRR amount, are determined.

The reserve maintenance period is the period during which a bank maintains reserve assets in order to meet MRR.

Both the calculation period and the reserve maintenance period last 28 calendar days and follow one another consecutively.

MRR are fulfilled on an averaging basis, i.e. over 28 days the average amount of reserve assets must be equal to or greater than the required MRR. During the day, a bank may use its funds for daily settlements. For calculation purposes, end-of-day balances are taken into account.

The averaging mechanism enhances banks’ resilience to changes in autonomous liquidity factors. This helps smooth volatility in money market interest rates, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of the monetary policy transmission mechanism.

Schedule of periods for 2026 

Categories of liabilities subject to MRR

Category I: all types of liabilities not included in other categories;

Category II: adjusted liabilities from repurchase agreement (repo) operations, defined as the positive difference between the average amount of a bank’s liabilities under repurchase agreements during the calculation period and the sum of the bank’s claims under reverse repurchase agreements (reverse repo) and interbank money market operations, multiplied by the repo adjustment coefficient.

Effective January 1, 2026, the adjustment coefficient for repo transactions denominated in the national currency shall be calculated by the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (hereinafter, “KASE”) based on the results of the preceding calendar year, published on KASE’s official website no later than the tenth business day of the first month of the current year, and applied throughout the current year, beginning with the first determination period of the current year.

For 2026, the adjustment factor for repo transactions is:

• in national currency – 0,9;
• in foreign currency – 1.

Category III: liabilities that constitute genuine sources of long-term funding and for which banks confirm compliance with the following conditions:

• the bonds have a maturity of at least three years;
• the bonds do not include any bondholder option for early (full or partial) redemption (repurchase);
• the bonds are not used for client liquidity management purposes, including redemptions by the issuer at the initiative or request of individual holders;
• the bonds are not used as a substitute for the placement of individual clients’ funds (e.g. in the event of significant client deposit outflows).

Specifics of MRR calculation

When determining the amount of MRR for each category of a bank’s liabilities included in the calculation, the average value of the respective liabilities over the calculation period (arithmetic mean) is determined.

The MRR for each liability category included in the calculation is then calculated by multiplying the average value of that liability category by the MRR ratio applicable to that category.

The Total MRR is obtained by summing the requirements across all liability categories included in the calculation.

The MRR ratio is a coefficient, expressed as a percentage, applied to a bank’s liabilities included in the MRR calculation.

A violation of MRR, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 213 of the Code of Administrative Offences, is subject to a fine of 300 Monthly Calculation Index (MCI) in the event of repeated breaches by banks (two or more times within three consecutive calendar months).