Home Credit Bank (HCB) will retain its credit profile after 100% of its shares are sold to ForteBank, according to Fitch Ratings. Moreover, the rating agency believes the government is unlikely to object if ForteBank provides support to HCB.
According to HCB’s 2024 financial statements, cash loans account for 80% of the bank’s loan portfolio, which also includes consumer loans (13.1%). At the same time, there is no indication that the bank offers mortgages, car loans or business loans.
Fitch expects the sale of HCB will not affect its banking operations. The agency notes that the bank will continue to operate as an independent legal entity, meaning no rebranding is expected. Fitch also believes that full integration of HCB into ForteBank will take time.
The HCB deal will be followed by the assignment of a Shareholder Support Rating (SSR), reflecting the expected level of financial backing from ForteBank.
The new SSR will be at least one notch below ForteBank’s long-term issuer default rating (BB/Stable). Fitch noted that, given HCB’s size relative to ForteBank, any potential support would represent a substantial obligation for the parent company.
«We also expect the Kazakh authorities to support financial backing from Forte to HCB, as the consolidated entity is likely to be regulated as a single banking group,» Fitch Ratings emphasized.
On June 27, 2025, media reported that ForteBank had reached an agreement in principle to acquire Home Credit Bank. The deal is expected to close after approval from regulators, including the Agency for the Development and Regulation of the Financial Market of Kazakhstan.
Home Credit Bank is currently owned by Jiri Šmejc (34.7%), a top executive at the international PPF Group, along with the group itself (9.9%) and several other employees.
PPF is controlled by the family of Renáta Kellnerová — widow of the group’s former owner Petr Kellner and the richest woman in the Czech Republic. Her fortune is estimated at $19 billion, ranking her 104th on the global Forbes list.
As of July 1, 2025, Bulat Utemuratov, the majority owner of ForteBank, holds 91.1% of the bank’s shares.
