Best bank 2025: Halyk Bank
Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest lender, has once again been recognised as the country’s best bank. This is driven by the bank’s record-breaking financial performance, expansion of digital services, and its pioneering efforts in sustainability.
Over the past year, Halyk Bank has delivered exceptional results across key financial metrics. Net income surged by 32.8% year-on-year, while net interest income rose by 39%. Total assets increased by 19.7% year-to-date, with net loans growing by 23.5% and total deposits up by 18.9%.
Thanks to this strong performance, Halyk Bank received upgraded credit ratings from both Moody’s and S&P. Moody’s raised its long-term deposit rating to ‘Baa1’, aligning it with Kazakhstan’s sovereign rating, while S&P upgraded its long-term issuer credit rating to ‘BBB-’, also on par with the sovereign level.
Demonstrating its commitment to sustainable development, Halyk Bank became the first commercial bank in Kazakhstan to issue a green bond. In December 2024, it successfully placed a debut green bond worth KT20 billion tenge ($38.5 million) on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, with a three-year maturity.
On the digital front, Halyk Bank launched 52 eGov services, positioning itself as a leader among banks and external platforms in delivering public services. The success of its digital strategy is further reflected in the growth of its digital retail platform. The Halyk Super App processed transactions totalling KT16.2 trillion over the past year.
Best international bank 2025: Citibank Kazakhstan
Citibank Kazakhstan has demonstrated substantial contributions to the country’s financial landscape, positioning itself as a leader in Kazakhstan’s banking sector.
Serving as a critical economic conduit, the bank has channelled more than $35 billion into various sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, benefiting major infrastructure projects and becoming one of the country’s largest taxpayers with contributions exceeding KT116 billion ($221 million) since 2020.
In the domain of foreign exchange and payments, Citibank processes around 70,000 transactions annually totalling $20 billion, capturing a 30% market share. Additionally, the bank handles over 2 million payment transactions yearly, with volumes surpassing $100 billion.
Citibank’s digital innovation has been noteworthy, introducing pioneering digital solutions such as CitiDirect Online Investments and Citi Payment Insights. This digital push has led to a 50% adoption rate for electronic signatures in credit card applications and the digitisation of 53% of trade guarantees and loan distributions.
The bank’s financial health remains robust, evidenced by a 2024 net revenue of KT144.1 billion and an impressive 83.82% return on equity. Also notable is its flawless non-performing loan ratio of 0.00% maintained from 2020 to 2024.
Citibank also prominently supports environmental and socially responsible projects, such as the financing of $500 million for Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC for green capital expenditure projects, and the facilitation of sustainable bonds worth KT100 billion through the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
Finally, facilitating cross-border transactions, the bank plays a vital role in enabling international institutional investors to participate in the Kazakhstan capital markets through the Astana International Exchange.
