In the opening six months of 2026, retail deposit volumes in Kazakh banks exceeded 30 trillion tenge, equivalent to nearly $64 billion, for the first time on record. Against that backdrop, the Kazakhstan Deposit Insurance Fund (KDIF) increased its special reserve by 10% to 1.73 trillion tenge. The KDIF reported…
Freedom Holding Corp. has completed the acquisition of a Turkish bank. On July 31, 2026, the transfer of a controlling stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş. to Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş., a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp., was completed. The financial institution has changed its name to Freedom Bank A.Ş., and…
Freedom Finance Global has announced its results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 (from April 1 to June 30, 2026). During the reporting period, the company generated $227.90 million in revenue, a significant increase from $136.06 million in the same period a year earlier. During the first quarter,…
In terms of assets, Kazakhstan’s banking sector is larger than those of all Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states except Russia. Kazakh banks have 10 times the assets of banks in Kyrgyzstan and 2.5 times those of banks in Belarus, according to EEU data. The total assets of Kazakhstan’s banks…
Kazakhstan currently has nine billionaires, according to Forbes. Below is an updated infographic highlighting Kazakhstan’s richest people and their key assets. The visual was compiled by Nurasyl Abdrazakuly, a Kazakh data scientist and frequent collaborator on our infographics. As in the previous infographic, each billionaire is shown alongside the logo…
The government of Kazakhstan has approved rules for strategic digital mining. Large mining companies will be able to purchase electricity at a price not exceeding the maximum rate charged by electricity producers by signing 10-year contracts. In return, they will donate a portion of their mined digital assets each month,…
Hungarian banking group OTP Bank decided to strengthen its position in Europe instead of entering Kazakhstan, as previously planned. The bank has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Luminor Holding, the parent company of Luminor Bank, which operates in the Baltic states. The sellers are a…
Kazakhstan’s National Bank is evaluating several models for integrating confiscated cryptocurrency into the country’s financial system, including the possible creation of a National Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve. In a statement, the central bank said it is working with other government agencies on arrangements for seizing, confiscating, storing and managing digital assets…
Most Kazakhstani banks have joined the Interbank Mobile Payment System (IMPS), which is designed to simplify purchases through a single QR code. The service will officially launch on July 19, with additional features to be introduced gradually. Speaking at the IMPS launch ceremony, National Bank Deputy Chairman Binur Zhalenov said…
Kazakhstan’s commercial banks, including Halyk Bank and Freedom Bank, have begun offering mortgages under the Housing and Construction Savings (HCS) system, joining Otbasy Bank in providing loans with interest rates ranging from 5% to 10%. The new products could divert some demand from traditional market-rate mortgages, Ramazan Dossov, chief analyst…
Starting July 18, provisions will enter into force establishing the digital tenge as a digital form of the national currency and recognizing it as legal tender. The relevant provisions are set out in a law on issues concerning the regulation and development of the financial market, communications and bankruptcy. The…
Women-owned small and medium enterprises across Europe and Central Asia continue to face a persistent financing gap, according to a new study by the World Bank. The study identifies 49 distinct barriers that prevent these entrepreneurs from accessing necessary debt and equity finance, ranging from deep-seated social norms to conflicting…
Kazakhstan’s tenge weakened after the National Bank announced plans to end the requirement for quasi-state-owned companies to sell a portion of their foreign currency earnings, although analysts said the measure’s actual impact on the exchange rate is likely to be limited. Over the past two trading sessions last week, the…
This week, Kazakhstan’s National Bank will lift the requirement for quasi-state-owned companies to sell 50% of their foreign currency earnings on the domestic market, a measure introduced last year to support the tenge. National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov said the requirement was adopted as a temporary anti-crisis measure when the…
Banks’ May financial reports show that Otbasy Bank, unlike Kazakhstan’s universal lenders, has been largely unaffected by recent regulatory and tax changes. The specialized state-owned bank ranked first in loan growth, second in asset growth and third in deposit growth. Asset growth Total banking sector assets increased by 1.6 trillion…
Kazakhstan could exempt individuals from paying taxes on income generated from digital asset transactions on regulated platforms. The measure is intended to bring the purchase and sale of digital assets into a regulated legal framework, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development said. On July 7, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a multi-billion-yuan loan to Kazakhstan, but the decision was not unanimous. The U.S. voted against the loan. The board of directors approved a 3.4 billion yuan (about $500 million) loan to Kazakhstan to finance the second phase of the fiscal governance and financial…
Vyacheslav Kim, Kazakhstan’s richest businessman, co-owner of Kaspi.kz and the sole owner of Alatau City Bank, has registered a new holding company, United Group Alatau, at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The registration may signal plans to restructure the ownership of Alatau City Bank, according to Arman Batayev, a…
According to the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), demand for cars in Kazakhstan has been largely satisfied. As of May 2026, the number of issued car loans fell by 37.3% compared to May 2025. In its May financial sector review, the agency reported that car…
Kazakhstan’s external debt continues to grow, increasing by nearly $1 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Debt continues to grow As of April 1, 2026, Kazakhstan’s external debt reached $182.8 billion, up $0.9 billion over the first quarter. According to official data, the increase was primarily driven by price…
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has granted the country’s first operating license to Astana-based cryptocurrency exchange service Pax Finance. The license allows the company to officially buy, sell and hold digital assets, as well as establish exchange offices and install crypto ATMs. The exchange service will operate under Kazakhstan legislation.…
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.…
Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş., a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp., has obtained approval from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) and the Turkish Competition Authority. The regulators approved the acquisition of a 99.32% stake in the share capital of Turkish Bank A.Ş. New chapter for Freedom in Turkey Freedom…
Freedom Holding Corp. has announced the appointment of Valeriy Kim as its chief financial officer (CFO). He previously served as vice president of finance at Freedom Holding Corp. and chief executive officer of Freedom Holding Operations LLP, a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. Kim assumes the role from Evgeny Ler,…
