Altyn Bank, a subsidiary of China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd., has begun accepting retail deposits in Chinese yuan. Starting Oct. 5, 2026, individuals can open term and savings deposits denominated in yuan at the bank.
The «Gold Reserve» yuan deposit is already available among the bank’s products. Customers can add funds to the deposit and make partial withdrawals, while interest is paid monthly. Both the nominal interest rate and annual effective interest rate (AEIR) are 0.1%.
Altyn Bank’s Asset and Liability Committee made the decision to add the yuan to the list of currencies available for retail deposits on Sept. 30, 2026.
Read also: How a Chinese bank unit came to lead Kazakhstan’s deposit growth.
Yuan deposits remain uncommon
In Kazakhstan, yuan-denominated deposits are primarily offered by subsidiaries of Chinese banks. Major domestic banks generally limit their deposit currencies to the tenge, U.S. dollar, euro and Russian ruble, making yuan deposits relatively rare.
For example, Bank of China Kazakhstan offers a yuan deposit with a maximum AEIR of 0.6%, although it is available only to legal entities. Meanwhile, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Almaty branch offers term deposits with an AEIR of up to 12%.
Altyn Bank’s shareholders and assets
China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd. is Altyn Bank’s largest shareholder, with a 50.1% stake. Halyk Bank holds 40%, while Chinese investment company Shuangwei owns the remaining 9.9%.
According to the latest data from Kazakhstan’s National Bank, Altyn Bank ranks 13th among the country’s 23 commercial banks by assets, with 1.23 trillion tenge.
Kazakhstan’s highest deposit rates
In September, the highest annual effective interest rates on tenge deposits (20%) were offered by Bereke Bank through its «Salem» promotion and by KMF Bank on three-month deposits.
For one-year deposits, the highest rates, offered by Eurasian Bank and Freedom Bank, ranged from 16.9% to 17%, compared with a market average of 14.7%.
