BNK Finance Kazakhstan, a Kazakhstani microfinance organization owned by South Korean holding BNK Capital, has received a banking license from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM). The newly established bank has been named BNK Commercial Bank.
The official ceremony for awarding the banking license was attended by ARDFM Chair Madina Abylkassymova, Consul General of the Republic of Korea Ha Tae-youk and Chair of the Board of BNK Capital Kim Song-Joo.
According to Kim Song-hyun, Chair of the Board of BNK Commercial Bank, the new bank will focus on providing products and services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By 2027, the bank also plans to expand its operations to other CIS countries. For now, however, its priority will be transforming its current microfinance operations into a full-fledged bank.
«We are going to offer digital financial products of the future,» said Song-hyun.
Abylkassymova emphasized the broader significance of the event for Kazakhstan, noting that the license for BNK Commercial Bank is the first banking license issued since 2010.
«The ARDFM has adopted a set of amendments that expanded the possibilities for transforming financial organizations into banks. In 2024, regulatory requirements for foreign banks were reduced, while outdated administrative barriers were eliminated. By issuing this license, we confirm our readiness to attract new foreign investors to Kazakhstan’s financial market. The emergence of this new bank will boost competition and streamline lending to small and medium-sized businesses,» she noted.
The transformation of BNK Finance Kazakhstan into a bank received significant momentum last summer, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev publicly expressed his support for the initiative. It is worth noting that the organization is not the largest microfinance institution in the country — it ranks 13th in terms of assets ($49.8 million) and has a loan portfolio of $42 million.
According to eGov.kz, the MFO is controlled by South Korea’s BNK Capital Co., part of the BNK Financial Group holding, which also includes Busan Bank, Kyongnam Bank and four investment companies. Since 2014, BNK Capital has been expanding its financial network in key Southeast Asian countries. It has successfully entered markets in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, offering microcredit products. As a result, it has become one of the leading financial organizations in the region.
