The services industry is growing in Kazakhstan and is boosting demand for bank loans. Loans to the sectors increased by 13% in the first half of 2016

The services industry remains the main beneficiary of Kazakh banks’ credit resources. Loans to the services industry increased by 13% to KZT9tn in the first half of 2016.

The amount of loans recovered after it decreased in 2015. In July 2015 loans to the services sector fell to KZT8tn from KZT9.1tn in May. However, in the second half of that year the loan portfolio started recovering and increased to KZT9.4tn in January 2016. It fell slightly in February (to KZT8.9tn) but has since started growing.

As a result, loans to the services sector accounted for 73% of total loans issued by Kazakh banks.

Loans to services enterprises increase on the back of increase in production in the sector. Large, medium-sized and small services enterprises produced services worth KZT2.6tn in January-March 2016, 24% up year on year.

The highest growth was shown by small enterprises whose output increased by KZT300bn or 42%. Services rendered by large and medium-sized enterprises grew by KZT202bn or 14% year on year in the first quarter of 2016.

The monthly rate of loaning to the services sector is higher by 9% on average this year than in 2015. Especially remarkable was growth in bank loans to the sector in February – KZT507bn or 21% year on year.

Sharp increase in loaning was also recorded in April when services enterprises obtained new loans worth KZT682bn or 19% up year on year.

The rate of growth in loaning sector is even higher than in 2014, be it insignificant – two percentage points.

The shares of short-term and long-term loans are almost equal in the sector – 52% of new loans were short-term in January-June 2016 and 48% long-term.

The share of short-term loans peaked in 2014 when it stood at 57%. However, demand for them fell by 18% in 2015 and only 52% of credits were loans issued for less than a year.

Despite increase in loans to the services sector banks are successfully managing to oversee the quality of the growing loan portfolio. The share of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the sector was only 7.3% of total loans in June, the lowest level since 2015 when banks started getting rid of NPLs.

Between January 2015 and June 2016 the quality of long-term loans issued to the services industry improved to 6.9% from 9%. The share of toxic short-term loans fell to 9.5% from 18%.