Nearly a year after receiving its banking license, KMF Bank reported a decline in profit on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). In the first half of 2026, the financial institution posted net profit of 4.3 billion tenge (approximately $9 million), down from 4.7 billion tenge a year earlier.
According to its financial statements, KMF Bank’s net profit fell 8.4% despite growth in both interest income and its loan portfolio.
Core business continues to expand
KMF Bank’s core business continued to grow during the reporting period. Interest income increased to 60.7 billion tenge from 52.1 billion tenge a year earlier.
The bulk of the bank’s revenue continued to come from customer lending. Interest income from loans to customers rose to 59.3 billion tenge from 50.6 billion tenge.
Net interest income increased 12.3% year over year to 33.9 billion tenge.
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Higher provisions weigh on earnings
The increase in income was offset by higher loan-loss provisions. During the first six months of the year, the bank allocated 6.8 billion tenge to build reserves, compared with 3.7 billion tenge a year earlier, when the institution still operated as a microfinance organization (MFO). As a result, provisioning expenses increased by nearly 83%.
The bank’s results were also weighed down by losses on financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss. Those losses totaled 3.7 billion tenge in the first half of 2026, up from 1.7 billion tenge a year earlier.
Despite the weaker first-half performance, the second quarter was stronger. From April through June 2026, KMF Bank earned 2.48 billion tenge in net profit, an 8.5% increase from the same period last year.
Transition to a commercial bank
On Aug. 12, 2025, Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market granted KMF a banking license. The company subsequently became KMF Bank, making it Kazakhstan’s 23rd commercial bank.
At the time it received the license, KMF had assets of 395 billion tenge and a loan portfolio of 315 billion tenge. The bank said its new status would enable it to expand its product offering by introducing deposits, bank accounts and money transfer services while maintaining its focus on financing entrepreneurs and self-employed borrowers.
Ownership structure
KMF Bank is primarily owned by the Kazakhstani corporate fund KMF-Demeu, which holds approximately 60.4% of the bank’s shares. Through the fund, the ultimate controlling owner is the U.S. nonprofit organization ACDI/VOCA. The remaining shares are held by international investment funds and other investors.
