Banks’ May financial reports show that Otbasy Bank, unlike Kazakhstan’s universal lenders, has been largely unaffected by recent regulatory and tax changes. The specialized state-owned bank ranked first in loan growth, second in asset growth and third in deposit growth.
Asset growth
Total banking sector assets increased by 1.6 trillion tenge (about $3.4 billion), or 2.3%, in May (here and below, Kursiv Research estimates based on National Bank data).
Halyk Bank accounted for roughly one-quarter of the monthly increase, adding 409 billion tenge. Other major contributors included Bank RBK (+267 billion tenge), ForteBank (+253 billion), Otbasy Bank (+228 billion), Bank CenterCredit (+193 billion) and ICBC (+186 billion). Another Chinese lender, Bank of China, posted the sector’s weakest monthly performance, with assets declining by 134 billion tenge.
Since the beginning of the year, sector assets have increased by 2.2 trillion tenge, or 3.1%. The largest contributors were Halyk Bank (+703 billion tenge), Otbasy Bank (+612 billion) and Kaspi Bank (+518 billion). Among smaller lenders, Bank RBK recorded the strongest growth, with assets increasing by 221 billion tenge.
The two Chinese banks posted the fastest asset growth rates. Among universal lenders, Home Credit Bank recorded the highest growth rate, at 9.2%.
Nine banks reported declines in assets, including five major universal lenders: Bank CenterCredit, Alatau City Bank, Bereke Bank, Altyn Bank and Eurasian Bank. At Bank CenterCredit and Bereke Bank, the declines were driven by corporate deposit outflows. At Altyn Bank, Eurasian Bank and Alatau City Bank, both corporate and retail customers reduced their deposits.
Lending
Total lending (excluding reverse repos) increased by 697 billion tenge, or 1.6%, in May.
Halyk Bank was the largest contributor, expanding its loan portfolio by 285 billion tenge during the month.
Since the beginning of the year, Eurasian Bank’s loan portfolio has contracted by 25 billion tenge, the weakest performance in the sector. As of May 1, the bank ranked sixth by loan volume. One month later, it had fallen to eighth place after being overtaken by Bank RBK and Bereke Bank.
Specialized lender Otbasy Bank led the sector in absolute loan portfolio growth, expanding by 267 billion tenge since the beginning of the year.
Nonperforming loans
The total volume of nonperforming loans (Stage 3 and POCI assets) increased by 34 billion tenge, or 1.2%, in May.
As is typically the case, the largest lenders recorded the biggest increases. Kaspi Bank’s stock of nonperforming loans rose by 15 billion tenge during the month, while Halyk Bank’s increased by 27 billion tenge. Bank RBK, however, provided a notable boost to the aggregate figures by cutting its non-performing loans by 22 billion tenge.
Profitability
The banking sector’s net profit for the first five months totaled 1.04 trillion tenge, down 108 billion tenge, or 9.4%, from the same period a year earlier.
During the first four months of the year, profit had declined by 12%; the pace of the decline therefore moderated in May. Kursiv Research previously examined the factors behind the deterioration in banks’ financial performance.
Alatau City’s state aid obligations
Alatau City Bank recorded the largest decline in net profit in absolute terms, with earnings falling by 39 billion tenge.
The bank, formerly known as Jusan Bank, continues to owe a substantial amount of state aid. According to Kursiv Research calculations based on publicly available information, as of March 2025 Jusan Bank’s outstanding obligation to the government totaled 859 billion tenge. It was later revealed that the actual amount exceeded that estimate by 140 billion tenge.
In June 2025, shortly after the bank rebranded and came under the ownership of Vyacheslav Kim, officials publicly disclosed the size of its obligation for the first time. According to Kazinform, citing the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), Jusan Bank owed the government exactly 1 trillion tenge.
In September, the bank repaid 50 billion tenge in state aid. Later, ARDFM Chair Madina Abylkassymova told parliament that Alatau City Bank’s outstanding debt to the state remained at 950 billion tenge.
On July 2, the bank announced plans to make an additional early repayment of 125.3 billion tenge. The following day, it disclosed that it had declared dividends totaling the same amount to its sole shareholder — 123.4 billion tenge on common shares and 1.9 billion tenge on preferred shares.
Under the current regulatory framework, banks that have received state aid may distribute dividends only if the dividend amount does not exceed the amount of their early repayment of state support.
Kursiv Research argued in March 2025 that the government, by allowing Kim to acquire another bank in addition to his controlling stake in Kaspi Bank, should protect taxpayers’ interests by making the transaction conditional on the repayment of state aid.
Later that year, the assessment was effectively confirmed by Berik Sholpankulov, then deputy chair of the National Bank. According to Sholpankulov, Alatau City Bank will make annual repayments under a schedule «already agreed upon» with the regulator.
Dividend decision reversed
Despite these agreements, Alatau City Bank’s decision to pay dividends appeared to evolve over time.
Initially, Vyacheslav Kim rejected a dividend payment altogether. At the annual General Shareholders’ Meeting on May 29, the bank’s sole shareholder resolved to retain the 2025 profit rather than distribute it as dividends. However, that decision was later reversed. At another General Shareholders’ Meeting held on June 30, the shareholder approved a dividend payment.
Leadership changes
Between those two meetings, another General Shareholders’ Meeting took place on June 16, during which the shareholder approved compensation for Gulmira Dzhumadillayeva in her capacity as a member of the board of directors. At the time, Dzhumadillayeva also served as the bank’s chair, making her a member of the board by virtue of her executive position. Executive directors typically are not separately compensated for board service.
On July 1, Dzhumadillayeva stepped down as the bank’s chief executive, and Anuar Kuandykov was appointed head of Alatau City Bank. According to the bank, Dzhumadillayeva resigned at her own request while retaining her seat on the board of directors.
Whether the leadership change was connected to the bank’s reversal on dividends remains unclear. Only those directly involved in the decision-making process would know whether the two developments were related.
