The expert named potential targets for expanding Freedom Holding Corp.'s banking business. in Kazakhstan

Galim Khusainov, an investment banker and member of the Board of Directors of Teniz Capital Investment Banking, discussed in an interview with the Forbes Kazakhstan YouTube channel which financial institution Freedom Holding Corp. would acquire. may expand the banking business in Kazakhstan. The majority shareholder and the head of Freedom Holding Corp. announced their respective plans. Timur Timur Turlov spoke in an interview with Bloomberg this winter.

Then Timur Turlov stated that he was ready to consider the acquisition of another credit institution in Kazakhstan with assets of at least 2.5 trillion tenge and a capital of $ 500 million.

Galim Khusainov drew attention to the fact that the list of organizations potentially suitable for these conditions includes Bank RBK and Eurasian Bank. At the end of 2025, Bank RBK's assets amounted to $5.32 billion (2.7 trillion tenge), regulatory capital of $0.53 billion (267 billion tenge), assets of the Eurasian Bank at the same date amounted to $5.96 billion (3.026 trillion tenge), regulatory capital — $0.99 billion (503 billion tenge).

Timur Turlov, in an interview with Bloomberg, noted that the deal could take place at a price lower than the book value of a hypothetical bank. He called the purpose of the possible purchase to increase the customer base, mainly in the corporate sector.

Galim Khusainov believes that the current shareholders of both banks may be interested in selling their assets for various reasons. Thus, according to the investment banker, the financial sector is not the main area of interest for the majority owner of Bank RBK, Vladimir Kim, although the bank has not yet been officially put up for sale.

The owners of the Eurasian Bank have also not yet announced their intention to sell their shares. However, Khusainov believes that such a desire may logically arise from the heiresses of Alexander Mashkevich, who previously owned 33% of the capital of the Eurasian Bank. The billionaire died about a year ago, and his assets were transferred to his widow and daughter. In addition, Patokh Shadiev can also sell a share (also 33% through the structure of the EFK holding company) in the bank — his main business is focused on the ferroalloys market, but the bank is not a core asset for him. If these shareholders want to exit the capital of the Eurasian Bank, and Turlov wants to acquire their shares, only a controlling stake in the credit institution can enter the perimeter of the transaction, Khusainov said.

As part of the Freedom Holding Corp. group. Currently, only one credit institution of Kazakhstani origin is Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, which was acquired from ForteBank in 2020 and previously operated under the Kassa Nova brand. After the business was reorganized, the bank became the central element of the Freedom ecosystem, operating through the Freedom Superapp client application. The client base of Freedom Holding Corp. It is growing at a faster pace, primarily due to the audience of the superapplication. It has doubled in a year, from 2.5 million to 5 million users. The number of clients of all Freedom Holding companies, including partners, reached 11 million at the end of 2025.

Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, in turn, serves as the settlement core around which all digital services included in the ecosystem are integrated. The banking structure ensures the synergy of not only the various businesses of the holding, but also the markets in which it is present.

Freedom Bank's significant contribution to the growth and development of Freedom Holding Corp. International rating agencies also note this. Thus, in early March 2026, S&P Global Ratings confirmed the bank's credit rating at "B-" on the international scale and at "kzBBB+" on the national scale of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a stable outlook. In the middle of the month, another member of the "big three", the rating agency Moody's Ratings, for the first time assigned Freedom Bank a long—term credit rating of Ba3 with a stable outlook. In their rating release, Moody's analysts noted the bank's lending model as reliable. In addition, they pointed to the high quality and low risk of Freedom Bank Kazakhstan's loan portfolio (by the end of 2025, it increased by 35% to 1.1 trillion tenge), which supported the rating.

Last year, the volume of deposits from individuals increased by one and a half times, to 882 billion tenge, and the volume of corporate deposits increased by 26%, to 590 billion tenge. The Agency expects the bank's deposit portfolio to grow at a faster pace than the market average. Analysts at both agencies believe that the ecosystem model provides an opportunity for rapid expansion, scaling, and expansion of Freedom Holding Corp.'s business. In various markets, it relies heavily on the quality of the subsidiary banking structure.

Freedom Bank Kazakhstan demonstrates rapid growth in the retail banking market. Thus, by the end of 2025, it entered the top three industry leaders in terms of the number of active customers, transaction volume and the number of valid Visa cards in Kazakhstan. In addition, he came out on top in terms of retail turnover on Mastercard cards. Freedom Bank Kazakhstan is also ahead of its competitors in terms of investments in personnel development: by the end of 2025, the cost of paying bank employees increased by 43.4%, to 42.3 billion tenge.

Foreign credit organizations that are gradually becoming part of Freedom Holding Corp. Through M&A transactions, license purchases, or other forms of affiliation, they are developing according to the Freedom Bank Kazakhstan model. Thus, a fully digital bank is already operating in Tajikistan. After completing all the organizational processes, the same credit institution will start operating in Georgia — a banking license has already been obtained.

The acquisition of Turkish Bank, a medium—sized player in the Turkish banking market with an extensive customer base and positive experience in digital business transformation, has also been completed. Majority shareholder and head of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov, commenting on this deal, stated that the holding company "is going to Turkey with a digital product, an ecosystem, the core of which is Freedom SuperApp." In turn, the Turkish Bank will become the central local link of the Freedom ecosystem in this country. Turlov also does not exclude the possibility of acquiring a credit institution in France and the United States.