Bishkek, Sept. 18, 2025 /Kabar/. On September 17, the National Bank introduced a new market benchmark rate, abbreviated BIR (Bishkek Interbank Rate). Azat Kozubekov, Deputy Governor of the National Bank, announced this today at a press conference at the Kabar news agency.
According to him, the National Bank is actively working to improve the country's money market, aiming to enhance and strengthen the interaction of monetary policy decisions.
It is well known that monetary policy signals influence inflation processes in the country after a certain time lag, through so-called credit channels and foreign exchange channels. The interbank money market plays a key role in this chain. A developed money market allows the National Bank to more effectively implement monetary policy. In this regard, deepening the interbank money market is a key issue for us. We are improving the money market infrastructure. We are creating the necessary building blocks for its effective functioning. We are also creating tools for market participants to assess and analyze market conditions in the country, he said.
Kozubekov noted that the National Bank has taken an important historic step in this direction, and that work has been ongoing over the past year.
"The BIR rate is a market interest rate, an indicative indicator of the cost of money—I emphasize, in the short term. The benchmark BIR interest rate will serve as the basis for pricing a wide range of financial services. Similar benchmark rates are widely used globally in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Kazakhstan, as well as in other countries in our region and in countries with developed financial systems, particularly monetary systems, he said.
The Deputy Head believes that this innovation will facilitate the further development of the country's financial market. This is especially relevant now as the country enters the international capital market.
The presence of a comparable indicator in our country will increase investor appeal and accelerate the integration of the national financial market into the international system. The BIR money market benchmark rate will be calculated daily by the National Bank and published on the National Bank's website. Every participant in the money market, as well as other economic entities in the country, international organizations, and international investors, can use this rate as a reference when analyzing and making decisions, he said.
He noted that the publication of the BIR benchmark rate will allow for more efficient and significantly faster transactions between borrowers and lenders in the money market.