Kazakhstan

Citi is the best international bank in Kazakhstan, with a 25% market share of processed payments through correspondent accounts. It provides Kazakh clients with a variety of cross-border products, such as debt capital markets and services to those considering international expansion.

Citi is Kazakhstan’s best bank for corporate social responsibility after running initiatives to support the local community and to promote sustainability.

Halyk Finance wins best investment bank in Kazakhstan. Rated BB+ by Fitch, it has the highest credit rating among domestic banks with no foreign participation.

International sanctions against Russia and a slowdown in China’s economy have presented difficult challenges for Kazakhstan’s banking industry this year. Nevertheless, the country’s best domestic bank, Forte Bank, put in a good performance.

The Kazakhstan central bank’s reliance on an oversimplified toolbox to combat rising inflation could threaten its economy in the longer run. Seeking out alternatives and reassessing monetary policy is now more urgent than ever.

There are few Asiamoney awards categories for Kazakhstan that Halyk Bank doesn’t have a reasonable claim to this year. Its investment and corporate banking franchises are hard to beat, while its role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and its prowess in disrupting its own business model deserve a shoutout.

Citi has operated in Kazakhstan for more than 25 years; even so, the challenges posed by the pandemic, geopolitical events and the most aggressive US Federal Reserve tightening cycle in decades still came as quite a shock.

Bank CenterCredit, one of Kazakhstan’s oldest commercial banks, has evolved to form the backbone of the corporate system that stabilizes the economy. Its extensive branch network and its universe of correspondent relationships with more than 40 foreign banks have proved indispensable in these last few years.