The government of Kazakhstan has abandoned its earlier plan to merge the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). According to Timur Suleimenov, chair of the National Bank, the decision is part of a broader reform of the AIFC that…
Kazakhstan may invest a portion of its gold and foreign currency reserves, along with assets from its National Fund, in crypto assets, according to National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov. Alternative portfolio «We have an alternative portfolio of gold and foreign currency reserves and an alternative portfolio of the National Fund.…
Alatau City Bank, formerly known as Jusan Bank, reported that Forbes Kazakhstan-listed billionaire Vyacheslav Kim finalized the deal to acquire a 100% stake in the financial organization. «The acquisition of Alatau City Bank is extremely important for me, and I plan to create on its basis a fundamentally new financial…
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree establishing a new council to oversee the country’s National Fund, a sovereign wealth fund financed by oil revenues. Tokayev will serve as chair. The decree nullifies a 2004 order that designated former President Nursultan Nazarbayev as chair of the council. Regular members…
Kazakhstan’s net international reserves fell by $366 million (-0.73%) to $49.8 billion in June 2025, according to the National Bank. It marks the second consecutive monthly decline since the start of the year. Gross international reserves, which include assets in freely convertible currencies and monetary gold, dropped by $282 million…
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has released a draft law aimed at limiting the involvement of banks and bank holding companies in digital marketplaces, depending on the size of their capital. The proposed regulation, open for public comment through July 15, outlines new rules…
Zaman Bank, Kazakhstan’s Islamic bank, was the country’s sole financial institution to post a loss in May, reporting a deficit of approximately $2.4 million, according to data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The bank made headlines in November 2024 when a test payment was successfully processed between Zaman Bank…
Kazakhstan’s National Bank has welcomed a proposal by MPs to establish a crypto-asset reserve. According to Timur Suleimenov, the bank’s chair, work is underway on the development of its formation and management concept. One option involves creating a reserve within a National Bank subsidiary whose activities are focused on alternative…
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…
