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Euromoney does not visit offices. No one from London came to see how the branches or call-center operate. Experts look at figures for the reporting period — and this year, based on these figures, Halyk won two categories at once: Kazakhstan's Best Bank and Kazakhstan's Best for Corporates.

Awards for Excellence has been presented since 1992 and participated by more than six hundred banks from over a hundred countries, and only one bank in each country gets the award. For Halyk, this has long ceased to be a one-time occurrence: Bank gets the title of the “Best Bank in Kazakhstan” for the fifth consecutive year, and in December, the series was expanded with its first Best Transaction Bank award from the same magazine. But more importantly, the experts provide an explanation for every decision - detailing the results for which the award is given.

The specific reasons for the Best Bank award are detailed in the official analysis by Euromoney. The business magazine notes steady performance across all key areas, sustainable balance sheet growth and high customer activity. Retail business was named as the main driver: revenue grew by approximately 11.6% with a base of 11.3 million customers, retail deposits increased by circa 5.5% and loan portfolio - around 4%. The jury viewed this as a sign of steady demand and effective cross-selling. The corporate and SME segments were also highlighted with revenue exceeding KZT 2.4 trillion.

The second award is related to the part of the Bank that a retail customer does not see at all. Best for Corporates is a separate category, and the period evaluated by the jury in the corporate unit looked like this. Halyk accounts for 47.3% of financing of the real economy among all second-tier banks in the country. 86% of Kazakhstan's largest taxpayers are serviced by the Bank. Corporate portfolio grew by 14.2% over the year, to KZT 6.8 trillion, and SME portfolio - by 19.8%. KZT 165.3 trillion in payments passed via Onlinebank, nearly a third more than the last year. And at the end of the year - a CNY 1.45 billion loan agreement with China Exim Bank, the first of its kind among commercial banks in Kazakhstan. The corporate unit, transactional business, Onlinebank, trade-finance - this was their year.

The Euromoney award cannot be won for a single high-profile project or a few impressive metrics: the jury evaluates the sum of the daily work of all business units over the year, from retail to trade finance. For the fifth year in a row, this sum adds up. This year – it happened twice.