Despite the continued dominance of the state in Uzbekistan’s banking sector, private players — particularly young digital banks — are expanding more rapidly. The gradual denationalization of the economy is also expected to revive the local stock market, which currently lacks attractive instruments for investors. Assets of Uzbekistan’s credit institutions…
In March 2025, Kazakhstani banks reported a combined profit of $432.5 million, while the sector’s total profit for the first quarter reached $1.2 billion. Monthly profit fell by 5.8% year-on-year, while cumulative profit for the entire first quarter declined by 12%, according to the National Bank. The decline in profit…
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, together with the National Bank, has approved new rules on biometric authentication. The regulation mandates verification through the Identification Data Exchange Center (IDEC) for banks, microfinance institutions and payment organizations. In addition to facial recognition, the rules allow the use…
Hungary’s OTP Bank sees Central Asia as one of its priority regions for business expansion and mergers and acquisitions, according to the group’s full-year 2025 results. The report highlights that the bank is prioritizing organic growth while continuing to pursue value-creating deals both across its current footprint and beyond. «Management…
According to Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) partner Vladimir Pochekuev, who also serves as chairman of the board of directors of Freedom Broker Global Markets (UAE) and Freedom Yatirim (Turkey), FRHC is considering acquiring a bank in Armenia. The key obstacle to this move is the relatively high cost of financial…
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) continues to help Kazakhstan attract private investment, diversify its economy and improve its infrastructure and financial systems, according to Lisa Kaestner, IFC director for Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. «Kazakhstan remains attractive for foreign investment due to its strategic location and resource base,» she told Kursiv.media,…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of 90 billion tenge (about $173.6 million) to Kazakhstan’s Otbasy Bank to expand access to mortgages, particularly for women, and to support environmentally friendly housing finance. The funding is part of the «Promoting Inclusive and Green Housing Finance» project. Read also:…
Kazakhstan’s National Bank will consider lowering its base rate once inflation shows a sustained decline both month over month and year over year, and if forecasts are met, Governor Timur Suleimenov said. He noted that in the second quarter, the economy is expected to continue adjusting to the new Tax…
Profits at microfinance organizations (MFOs) in Kazakhstan fell by nearly half in 2025, while the volume of loans overdue by more than 30 days rose by more than a quarter. Read also: Kazakh banks face 2025 profit dip amid tax and reserve hikes. The sector has grown to a scale…
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), a full-service commercial bank from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has received permission from Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) to establish a subsidiary bank in the country. ADCB is one of the largest banks in the UAE and holds…
Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest bank by assets, has not completed its planned acquisition of a 49% stake in Uzbek payment service Click within the expected timeframe, according to materials prepared for the bank’s upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 23. Deal terms and timeline The bank announced…
In September 2025, Kaspi.kz sold Portmone Group, the owner of the payment service of the same name in Ukraine, which Kaspi had acquired in 2021. Although no details of the deal were disclosed, it is known that the Kazakh fintech company did not earn much from the sale. This information…
Kazakh economist Rassul Rysmambetov said the tenge could remain in the range of 490-510 per U.S. dollar if global oil prices stay above $100 per barrel amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Read also: How $100 oil could pay for Kazakhstan’s nuclear future. According to Rysmambetov, Iran has previously signaled…
Islamic mortgage products could be introduced in Kazakhstan as early as this year, according to Lyazzat Ibragimova, CEO of Otbasy Bank, the sole bank implementing housing construction savings system. Read also: Islamic finance booms in Kazakhstan, but a key piece is missing: mortgages. Ibragimova announced the plan during a briefing following a recent…
Freedom Holding Corp. is acquiring a 99.32% stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş. from Özyol Holding and the National Bank of Kuwait. The deal still has to be approved by Turkish regulators. Deal details and development plans The core of the deal is Turkish Bank A.Ş., which has operated in Turkey…
Kazakhstan will receive loans for several infrastructure projects, including construction of the Zhezkazgan-Karaganda highway and participation in the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant project in Kyrgyzstan, where Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are partners. Read also: Where will Kazakhstan’s $28 billion infrastructure plan go? The loan agreement between Kazakhstan and organizations within the World…
Robinhood Markets Inc., a California-based provider of an electronic trading platform, has announced a new premium product — the Platinum card — aimed at high-income users, Reuters reported. The company’s Platinum card carries a $695 annual fee and offers cashback and other perks. Robinhood said these benefits could total up…
Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s leading fintech company and a major e-commerce ecosystem, has launched a special financial support program for Kazakhstanis facing travel disruptions due to the situation in the Middle East. Read also: No reports of Kazakh casualties in Middle East — Foreign Ministry. The assistance is intended for citizens who…
The February decline in cryptocurrency prices should not alarm investors, as volatility remains a natural part of market cycles. Despite current fluctuations, the long-term performance of the world’s leading cryptocurrency remains striking: over the past six years, Bitcoin’s price has risen nearly sevenfold, according to Nurkhat Kushimov, head of Binance…
Otbasy Bank, a state-owned bank specializing in mortgages, may become a «special product lender,» radically changing its image and geographic presence. It is set to expand its product portfolio by adding Islamic finance and leasing, according to Timur Onzhanov, deputy CEO of Baiterek Holding. In an interview with Bloomberg, the…
Kazakhstan’s banking sector will remember the year 2025 for a sharp decline in profit growth amid additional taxation and higher minimum reserve requirements. Growth in loan and deposit portfolios also slowed, though less dramatically than financial results. Total sector assets rose from 61.6 trillion to 70.8 trillion tenge in 2025…
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly transferred 620,000 bitcoins to users — coins worth more than $42 billion at current prices. The incident was caused by human error rather than a cyberattack. An error costing billions According to the South Korean newspaper Chosun, the mistake occurred during the distribution of…
Timur Turlov’s Freedom Bank has ranked among the top three banks in Kazakhstan for the highest interest rates on certificates of deposit, alongside Home Credit and Eurasian Bank, according to Ranking.kz. Freedom Bank, part of the Freedom Finance ecosystem supervised by well-known financier Timur Turlov, became the first bank in…
Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., plans to acquire another bank and a local marketplace in Kazakhstan. The company is also looking to purchase a second-tier bank in Turkey. To finance these initiatives, the holding is considering issuing up to $500 million in bonds, Turlov said. In…
