The management of BNK Commercial Bank, a new financial institution in Kazakhstan’s banking sector, has announced its plans to focus on developing lending products and working with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This strategy is outlined in a roadmap presented by bank executives during an official ceremony marking the transformation…
BNK Finance Kazakhstan, a Kazakhstani microfinance organization owned by South Korean holding BNK Capital, has received a banking license from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM). The newly established bank has been named BNK Commercial Bank. The official ceremony for awarding the banking license was…
According to Timur Turlov, the founder and majority shareholder of Freedom Holding Corp., the Freedom SuperApp will offer users the option to buy and sell crypto assets by the end of this year. He made this statement during a broadcast on the Freedom Broker Kazakhstan YouTube channel, presenting the company’s…
Several governments and central banks worldwide have recently voiced alarm regarding the risks of buying or investing in cryptocurrencies. Fabio Panetta, a policymaker at the European Central Bank and governor of the Bank of Italy, expressed concern about the reputational risks banks could face by offering services related to crypto-assets,…
Kazakhstani banks earned approximately $1.7 billion in net profit during the first four months of 2025, according to data released by the National Bank. April alone accounted for nearly $470 million, a record monthly figure so far this year. Top 5 banks by net profit (January-April 2025): Halyk Bank –…
First Heartland Jusan Bank, operating under the Jusan Bank brand, has announced its rebranding, changing its name to Alatau City Bank. The decision was made during the annual general shareholders’ meeting held on May 15. The bank highlighted that the new name reflects its strategy and ambitions. The name will…
David Brown, a British citizen, has rejoined the board of directors of Bereke Bank, which he left at the beginning of the year, according to a statement from the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) available on its website. The governing body of the credit institution, which was sold to the Qatari…
According to the latest report from Kazakhstan’s National Bank, the deposit volume increased by 2% in April, reaching 41.3 trillion tenge (approximately $81 billion) in the country. The upward trend was observed in deposits denominated in both national and foreign currencies. Despite the base rate remaining unchanged in April at…
Kazakhstan is expected to emerge as the regional leader in Islamic finance, according to a recent report by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The report, developed in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank, forecasts that Kazakhstan’s Islamic banking sector will grow to $3.3 billion by 2033. EDB’s analysts are optimistic…
The Central Bank of Russia foresees the base rate decreasing to a yearly average of 13% to 14% in 2026 and 7.5% to 8.5% in 2027. These projections were outlined in the regulator’s comment to the medium-term forecast, published on May 12, following a board meeting on the base rate…
Vyacheslav Kim has retained the top spot on the list of the richest Kazakhstanis in 2025. Timur Turlov rose from 5th to 2nd place, while Vladimir Kim stepped up from 4th to 3rd. Timur Kulibayev and his wife Dinara dropped from 2nd to 6th, and Bulat Utemuratov was ranked 6th,…
Kazakhstan’s latest macroeconomic review by analysts at the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC) has amended the tenge exchange rate forecast to reflect its greater devaluation. In 2025, the exchange rate is expected to stand at 512.8 tenge per dollar on average, whereas the previous outlook from January suggested a rate…
The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), a subsidiary of Baiterek Holding, has borrowed €200 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This money will be spent on the support of energy and transport infrastructure, as reported by the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). Over the past year, the DBK has already…
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) is set to allow traditional banks to provide services under the Islamic window format. This is specified in a new draft law on banks and banking activities, which Dauren Salimbayev, director of the Department of Methodology and Prudential Regulation…
Kazakhstan’s National Fund has declined by 819.8 billion tenge (approximately $1.6 billion) since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Finance. In early January, the fund stood at nearly $65.8 billion, but by the end of March, it had dropped to about $64 billion at the current…
In 2021, Freedom Bank launched its digital mortgage. Since then, the bank has issued 33,500 loans worth $1.2 billion to Kazakhstanis from various walks of life, Timur Turlov, the founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., reported at a government briefing. «Our product — digital mortgage — allows borrowers to…
Kazakhstan’s fintech giant Kaspi.kz plans to acquire the Turkish subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. As reported by the media company, the negotiation process is underway, and no final decision has been made. Any potential deal must be approved by Turkish regulators.…
A possible acquisition of Jusan Bank by Vyacheslav Kim, a majority shareholder in Kaspi.kz and the richest person in Kazakhstan, may lead to synergy between the two financial institutions. It would also be an additional driver for Kazakhstan’s stock market, analysts from Freedom Broker believe. They made this assumption within…
In 2024, the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in Kazakhstan decreased by 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) to 12,569 machines. This decline is occurring while the cash-out share in the payment card transaction composition has stabilized. Kursiv Research is trying to figure out whether this is the end of ATMs as…
Kazakhstan’s leading pension fund management entities have released performance reports for the past year. Kursiv.media analyzed them to see which entities outperformed their competitors. In 2024, pension asset management companies (PAMCs) in Kazakhstan delivered solid returns for depositors. However, six major players in this review showed mixed investment results. BCC…
Exchange rate volatility and high interest rates on tenge deposits make it challenging to objectively assess the trends in financial flows between banks and retail clients. To tackle these challenges, Kursiv.media sought to eliminate the impact of these two distorting factors to provide a clearer analysis. Kursiv.media surveyed Kazakhstan’s 10…
Kazakhstan’s authorities reported a more than twofold increase in the number of registered EVs — from 4,700 to 10,700 year-on-year. For some insurance companies, this means new opportunities as they launch new products specially designed for EVs, while for others this is unchartered territory, leading them to avoid optional insurance…
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has recently published financial indicators for second-tier banks for August 2024. The sector saw a rise in bad loans by $41 million, which represents only a minimal increase of 0.01%. Kursiv.media analyzed how the balance of power in the country’s banking system has shifted based…
On May 31, 2024, subsequent court hearings of a case against Binance are expected to occur as the country’s authorities accuse the cryptocurrency exchange of rendering services to Uzbekistani citizens without a proper license and refusing to pay a fine for violation of the national legislation. So far, there are…
