10% or 30% down payment: how it changes the payment

In 2026 Kyrgyz banks accept down payments from 10% (SMC for privileged categories, MBank, Bakai Bank) to 30% and above. The down payment affects not only the loan amount but also the rate: for every 10% of down payment banks usually cut the rate by 0.5–1 point. Let us calculate for a 5 million som flat over 15 years.

Three scenarios

• 10% down (500,000 som): loan of 4.5 million som at 17.5%. Payment about 71,300 som, overpayment 8.3 million som.
• 20% down (1 million som): loan of 4 million som at 16.5%. Payment about 60,600 som, overpayment 6.9 million som.
• 30% down (1.5 million som): loan of 3.5 million som at 15.5%. Payment about 50,500 som, overpayment 5.6 million som.

Every extra 500,000 som of down payment saves roughly 10,000 som a month and 1.3–1.4 million som of overpayment over 15 years.

When the minimum makes sense

If you have 1.5 million som but put down only 500,000, the remaining million can go into a 17% deposit (KICB, Optima Bank). Over 15 years with compounding it grows to 10.5 million som, more than the difference in overpayment. But this only works with consistently high deposit rates, and they are likely to fall along with the NBKR key rate.

The second argument for a minimal down payment is a reserve. Handing all your savings to the bank leaves you without a safety cushion if you lose your job, and mortgage arrears can cost you the flat.

Practical advice

The optimum is a 20–25% down payment plus a reserve of 6 payments (300–400 thousand som) in a savings account. That way you get a below-average rate, keep liquidity and do not depend on a single salary. Find a programme with the right down payment in the FinMarketKG mortgage section: the down-payment filter shows only suitable banks.