The National Bank of Kazakhstan represents a uniform centralised system with a vertical subordination scheme.

NBK's governing bodies include the Board and Directorate. The NBK's structure includes a central office composed of departments and other subdivisions, branches, representative offices and organisations.

The NBK’s Board is the highest governing body of the bank. The Board of Directors (the Directorate) is vested with powers to carry out routine daily management.

The Chairman of the NBK is appointed by the President subject to approval by the Parliament for a 6-year period. The acting Chairman, Kadyrzhan Damitov, was appointed on February 20, 1998.

Deputy Chairmen of the NBK (S.A.Akhanov, N.Abdulina, A.Nalibaev and M.Kudyshev), each responsible for a specific field of NBK's operations, are nominated by the Chairman and are subject to appointment by the President of Kazakhstan.

The major NBK departments are Research & Statistics; Control & Auditing; Banking Supervision; Legal; Cash & Precious Metals Department. There are also two representative offices in Akmola and Moscow (Russia).

In 1994, Kazakhstan adopted the Basle prudential requirements proposed in 1988. On May 17, 1996, the Board of the National Bank approved the procedure for upgrading second-tier banks to international standards. The first group of the most advanced banks (top-tier) should reach international standards by the end of 1998. The second group – by the end of 2000.