Thousands in Kazakhstan declare bankruptcy

Kazakhstan’s prime minister, Alikhan Smailov, said that 6 thousand Kazakh citizens declared bankruptcy due to a debt of more than 9 billion tenge.

“The high level of debt among the population is an important socio-economic issue,” Smailov said during a government meeting.

“In particular, as of September 1, the total volume of consumer loans from banks amounted to 9.2 trillion tenge. The average amount of debt per borrower reaches almost 1.5 million tenge, for non – performing consumer loans-one million tenge”, he added.

“Some citizens are taking out new loans at a higher interest rate to cover overdue loans Thus, they are increasingly increasing their credit burdens.. And when the bank refuses them, they turn to various microfinance organizations, where interest rates on lending are excessively high,” Kazakhstan’s prime minister said.

“People find themselves in difficult situations because of financial ignorance,” Smailov said.

“In this regard, instructions were given to expand the scope of the project “Karyzsyz Kogam”, which is aimed at increasing the financial culture of the population, as well as providing advice on solving debt and employment problems,” he noted.