The threshold for entering the Kyrgyz banking market has been lowered to 3 billion KGS

The minimum charter capital requirements for newly established banks in Kyrgyzstan have been revised following public consultation. According to Melis Turgunbaev, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the threshold for new banks has been set at 3 billion KGS, rather than 5 billion as previously proposed.

This refers to a draft resolution that the National Bank submitted for public discussion in December. The document proposed a sharp tightening of the rules for entering the market. For banks submitting documents after January 1, 2026, the minimum authorized capital was planned to be set at 5 billion KGS (compared to the current 1 billion). A similar requirement was proposed to be extended to branches of foreign banks.

Such conditions significantly increased the cost of market entry and effectively equated new players with large banks. At the same time, a phased schedule was envisaged for existing banks to increase their capital to 5 billion KGS by 2030, with separate, higher requirements for systemically important banks.

However, following the discussion, the regulator softened its approach. According to a statement by the head of the National Bank, the minimum capital threshold for new banks has been set at 3 billion KGS.

The issue is particularly relevant given that several banks are currently being established in the country, including Asman Bank, Muras Bank, Kylim Bank, and Alma Finance Bank, while Bereket Bank officially became the 22nd bank after receiving a license from the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic on December 3.