The banking sector is usually discussed through the lens of interest rates, exchange rates, or inflation. But every financial system ultimately rests on something much simpler: scale. The logic is straightforward. The larger a bank’s asset base, the broader its capacity to lend, invest, manage liquidity, expand infrastructure, and serve customers.
That is why the first layer of our banking strength ranking focuses on size — comparing banks by the scale of their balance sheets.
▪️As of June 2026, Kazakhstan’s banking sector consisted of 23 second-tier banks (STBs).
Total banking sector assets (excluding the Development Bank of Kazakhstan) reached KZT 74.2 trillion, up KZT 9.4 trillion, or 14.5%, from KZT 64.8 trillion a year earlier.
Asset concentration remains exceptionally high among the country’s largest banks:
▫️Top 3 commercial banks — 54.3% of total banking assets;
▫️Top 5 banks — 69.2%;
▫️Top 10 banks — 88.8%.
In other words, the overall health of Kazakhstan’s banking system continues to be shaped primarily by the performance of its largest institutions.
The country’s ten largest banks are:
1️⃣ Halyk Bank — KZT 21.2 trillion (+KZT 224.5 billion, or 1.1% m/m), representing 28.6% of total STB assets;
2️⃣ Kaspi Bank — KZT 10.2 trillion (+KZT 246.9 billion, or 2.5% m/m), 13.8% of sector assets;
3️⃣ Bank CenterCredit — KZT 8.9 trillion (+KZT 414.0 billion, or 4.9% m/m), 11.9%;
4️⃣ Otbasy Bank — KZT 5.9 trillion (+KZT 99.8 billion, or 1.7% m/m), 8.0%;
5️⃣ ForteBank — KZT 5.2 trillion (-KZT 74.2 billion, or 1.4% m/m), 6.9%;
6️⃣ Alatau City Bank — KZT 3.3 trillion (-KZT 32.1 billion, or 1.0% m/m), 4.4%;
7️⃣ Freedom Bank Kazakhstan — KZT 3.0 trillion (+KZT 214.8 billion, or 7.8% m/m), 4.0%;
8️⃣ Bank RBK — KZT 2.8 trillion (-KZT 116.0 billion, or 3.9% m/m), 3.8%;
9️⃣ Eurasian Bank — KZT 2.8 trillion (-KZT 53.7 billion, or 1.9% m/m), 3.7%;
🔟 Bereke Bank — KZT 2.7 trillion (+KZT 39.4 billion, or 1.5% m/m), 3.7%.
▪️The largest increases in assets over the past year, in absolute terms, were recorded by:
1️⃣ Halyk Bank — up KZT 2.0 trillion (10.5%);
2️⃣ Bank CenterCredit — up KZT 1.6 trillion (22.4%);
3️⃣ Kaspi Bank — up KZT 1.4 trillion (15.2%);
4️⃣ Otbasy Bank — up KZT 1.3 trillion (27.4%);
5️⃣ Freedom Bank Kazakhstan — up KZT 717.7 billion (32.0%).
Only a handful of banks reported declines in assets over the past year:
▫️Eurasian Bank — down KZT 257.7 billion (8.6%);
▫️Alatau City Bank — down KZT 182.0 billion (5.3%);
▫️VTB Bank Kazakhstan — down KZT 30.2 billion (11.5%);
▫️BNK Commercial Bank — down KZT 1.9 billion (6.8%).
June highlighted how uneven growth remains across Kazakhstan’s banking sector. Total STB assets expanded by KZT 1.2 trillion, or 1.7% month-on-month, but that growth was far from broad-based. Much of the increase came from Bank CenterCredit, Kaspi Bank, Halyk Bank, and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, while several other large institutions simultaneously reduced their balance sheets.
The reshuffling within the top ten was particularly notable. After expanding its asset base by 7.8% in a single month, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan climbed to seventh place, overtaking both Bank RBK and Eurasian Bank. Even so, overall market concentration changed very little.
The sector continues to expand, but it is not becoming less concentrated. Rankings within the leading group are shifting, yet the bulk of new assets continues to accumulate at the country’s largest banks.
This article was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
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