President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a new banking law along with amendments to several legislative acts governing financial market regulation, the presidential press office reported. The changes aim to strengthen financial security, combat fraud, and reduce debt for Kazakh citizens. Measures to combat fraud The law adds safeguards to prevent…
As of Dec. 1, Kazakhstani banks had earned a total of 2.5 trillion tenge ($4.9 billion) in profit, including 226 billion tenge ($449 million) in November alone. Most major banks continued to post stable profits, although some unexpectedly dropped out of the top 10, according to statistics from the National…
Citigroup has approved the sale of its remaining business in Russia, marking another step in the bank’s withdrawal from the country, according to Euronews. The U.S. bank plans to sell its Russian subsidiary, AO Citibank, to Renaissance Capital, an investment bank focused on emerging and frontier markets. The transaction is…
Senior executives at Kazakhstan’s ForteBank say remote work undermines teamwork, discipline and corporate culture, arguing that the physical office remains essential to how the bank operates. Timur Issatayev, chairman of the board, and Talgat Kuanyshev, CEO, shared their views during a recent podcast on the YouTube channel «Two Meters.» Office…
Cryptocurrencies cannot be used to pay for goods and services in Kazakhstan, according to Madina Abylkassymova, head of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, who spoke at a recent parliamentary hearing. Her comments came as Kazakhstan’s Senate reviewed a new law on banks and banking activities…
According to Freedom Holding Corp. CEO and majority shareholder Timur Turlov, the company is exploring entry into the Turkish market. During a media briefing in Almaty, he said Turkey is a logical next step for the company’s development, though no deals have been signed yet. «I don’t want to spoil…
Kazakhstan’s National Bank is introducing amendments to the rules governing the opening and maintenance of bank accounts, as well as noncash payments and transfers. The changes will allow self-employed individuals to open special accounts. The proposed updates include: Allowing direct payments from escrow accounts to contractors for grant funding tied…
Kazakhstan’s net international reserves reached $58.3 billion in October 2025, marking the third consecutive record high, according to data from the National Bank. The figure rose 5.47% month-on-month, or by $3 billion. Since the start of the year, reserves have increased by $14.7 billion, or 33.76%. Net international reserves represent…
Kazakh Senator Gennadiy Shipovskih has proposed banning microloans for young adults under age 21. He outlined the idea on a Dec. 4 parliamentary inquiry addressed to Madina Abylkassymova, head of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM). Concerns about youth debt and easy access to loans…
Freedom Bank has become the third-largest bank in Kazakhstan by transaction volume and the number of active clients, according to Timur Turlov, CEO and majority shareholder of Freedom Holding Corp., who took part in the Global Banking Summit in London. He made this statement during the panel discussion «The Future…
Freedom Bank has received permission from Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market to open a subsidiary bank in Georgia, the bank said in a statement. «The next step is the registration of FBG Company JSC, a special-purpose vehicle that will be authorized to obtain a digital…
Kazakhstan looks into introducing crypto exchange tools into payment terminals, a move that will allow payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies. At the meeting of the Senate’s committee on finances and budget, Miras Zakiyev, the deputy chair of the committee of digital assets and breakthrough technologies of the Digital…
A Kazakhstani bank with a daily transaction volume of about $9 million can spend between $400,000 and $600,000 a year on transaction verification. The data comes from Baraiq, a developer of anti-fraud solutions for banks. Based on its data analysis, communication with financial institutions, and industry experience, the company found…
Calls to require marketplaces — especially those affiliated with banks — to publish two prices for goods, one standard and one for installment plans, represent a «strange construct,» according to Vitaliy Tutushkin, deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Bank. He shared his view on Nov. 21 during a Kursiv.media roundtable on…
Kazakhstan’s external debt reached a record high of $172.8 billion at the end of June, according to analysts at Halyk Finance. While private companies hold about 71% of that debt, the latest increase is largely driven by the public and quasi-public sectors. Debt ratio and stability factors The country’s external…
Kazakhstan marked the 28th anniversary of its national currency, the tenge, this year. The National Bank introduced a new series of banknotes designed in a «Saka style.» Throughout its history, the tenge has undergone multiple redesigns, and some observers argue that these updates are occurring too frequently. In an interview…
According to Freedom Bank CEO Gulfairuz Akhmetova, Kazakhstan has the potential to develop a single QR code solution for all Central Asian countries — a move she says would benefit both tourists and entrepreneurs. Speaking at the Central Asia Fintech Summit, where Kazakhstan officially launched its interbank unified QR code,…
Kazakhstan has formally launched a unified interbank QR payment system, enabling customers of participating banks to make purchases at any terminal using a single QR code. The service debuted at the Central Asia Fintech Summit 2025. Freedom Bank, Bank CenterCredit, and Home Credit Bank were the initial participants. Halyk Bank,…
The client base of Freedom Broker continues to grow. As of Oct. 1, 2025, the company had 310,500 active accounts, which is 80,600 more than a year earlier. The growth in new accounts from January to September amounted to 23.6%, and the total number of securities transactions reached 27.2 million.…
Kazakhstan outpaces many developed countries in generosity, reports Ranking.kz. The Charities Aid Foundation notes that Kazakhstani residents donate an average of 1.2% of their income to charity. This achievement places the country 30th worldwide — ahead of the U.S., Japan and Russia. This achievement is highlighted in the World Giving…
A 1.1 billion tenge (about $2 million) securitized bond issue has been listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). The transaction was arranged by Freedom Broker. It marks the first securitization on Kazakhstan’s organized market in seven years. The securities are available to retail investors. How the deal was structured…
Several of Kazakhstan’s largest banks have suspended mortgage lending after the central bank raised the base rate to 18%, except Freedom Bank and Otbasy Bank, which specializes in housing savings and offers mortgages at preferential rates. Halyk Bank, Nurbank and ForteBank have temporarily suspended their mortgage programs. Bank CenterCredit continues…
Zaman Bank, Kazakhstan’s Islamic bank, rolled out its first retail product this year — unsecured Islamic consumer loans with a maximum loan amount of 3 million tenge (about $5,500) — while progress on Islamic mortgages remains to be seen, according to the bank’s CEO Gulfairuz Assayeva. Notably, the bank made…
On Oct. 10, Kazakhstan’s National Bank raised its base rate by 1.5 percentage points (p.p.) to 18%, with a range of +/–1 p.p. The previous level of 16.5% was set in March 2025 and maintained following the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meetings in April, June, July and August. The regulator…
