Kazakhstani banks earned a combined 239.8 billion tenge (approximately $510 million) in May 2026, the highest monthly profit since the beginning of the year. While the five most profitable lenders remained largely unchanged, state-owned Otbasy Bank unexpectedly climbed to third place, according to statistics from the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
After posting a year-over-year decline in profits the previous month, the banking sector rebounded in May, with total earnings exceeding those recorded in May 2025. Most of the country’s largest banks also reported higher profits than a year earlier. Halyk Bank, for example, increased its monthly profit by 13% year over year to 89.2 billion tenge.
Top five banks remain the same, but rankings shift
The top five banks by monthly profit remained virtually unchanged, although their rankings shifted. Otbasy Bank displaced Bank CenterCredit from the traditional top three, joining Halyk Bank and Kaspi Bank. The lender earned 28.9 billion tenge in May — 3.5 times more than in April and three times more than a year earlier.
The five most profitable banks in May 2026 were:
- Halyk Bank — 89.2 billion tenge (398 billion tenge year to date)
- Kaspi Bank — 44.0 billion tenge (192 billion tenge year to date)
- Otbasy Bank — 28.9 billion tenge (68.9 billion tenge year to date)
- Bank CenterCredit — 17.5 billion tenge (88.0 billion tenge year to date)
- ForteBank — 15.8 billion tenge (54.8 billion tenge year to date)
Mid-tier banks and loss-makers
Alatau City Bank narrowly missed the top five, reporting a profit of 11.5 billion tenge in May and 43 billion tenge year to date. Citibank Kazakhstan, which does not operate a retail banking business, continued to rank among the most profitable banks, earning 9.6 billion tenge during the month.
A second group of lenders reported significantly lower profits, ranging from 3 billion to 4 billion tenge. These included Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan (3.9 billion tenge), Bank RBK, and VTB Bank.
Only two banks posted losses in May. Islamic Zaman Bank reported a loss of 147.6 million tenge, while BNK Commercial Bank recorded a loss of 316 million tenge.
The banking sector’s cumulative profit for the first five months of the year totaled 1.04 trillion tenge, down 9.4% from the same period in 2025.
