Kyrgyzstan's National Bank reports record reserves, banking growth

Almaz Baketaev, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, reported to the Zhogorku Kenesh on the nation's economic performance over the past year. He emphasized that a prudent monetary policy was instrumental in stabilizing the domestic foreign exchange market. This approach, he noted, helped prevent excessive growth in consumer prices, despite external risks and Kyrgyzstan's reliance on global commodity prices. The central bank maintained its discount rate between 9-11 percent, resulting in an annual inflation rate of 9.4 percent by year's end.

Baketaev highlighted significant achievements in the country's international reserves, which grew by 69.1 percent to reach a record $8.6 billion. The national currency remained largely stable, with the average exchange rate at 87.35 soms per dollar. To manage currency fluctuations, the National Bank intervened with $853 million.

The banking sector demonstrated robust growth, reflecting increased public and business confidence. Bank assets surged by 48.5 percent to over 1.2 trillion soms, while deposits grew by 46.4 percent to 866.2 billion soms. The loan portfolio expanded by 48 percent to 507 billion soms. Notably, financing based on Islamic principles doubled, reaching 21.1 billion soms, and the authorized capital of commercial banks more than doubled to 161.5 billion soms.

Furthermore, the country reduced its dependence on foreign currency, with loan dollarization falling from 21.1 percent to 18.3 percent. Digital payment solutions also saw expansion, with 114,100 unified QR codes installed and 578.9 million payments processed. The total number of payment cards reached 9.19 million, a 7.9 percent increase.

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The regulator’s main task remained ensuring price stability. Despite external risks and Kyrgyzstan’s dependence on global prices, the balanced policy of the National Bank helped prevent excessive growth in consumer prices.