Press room

International rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed Halyk's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Rating ("IDR") at 'BBB-'. The outlook is "Stable". As noted by Fitch, the ratings are supported by the Bank's dominant market share in Kazakhstan and high profitability, as well as significant capitalization and liquidity. The stable outlook reflects Fitch's opinion that the Bank's credit metrics will remain strong over the medium term.

"The affirmation of the credit rating is an important evidence of recognition of the Bank's effective performance in the conditions of new geopolitical challenges for the economy and volatile situation on the global markets. The decision of Fitch Ratings to assess our financial strength once again demonstrates the reliability of Halyk - the leader of the domestic banking system. The Bank has sufficient capital, high loyalty from customers and partners, and is continuously working on the launching digital services and products, building its own ecosystem. Halyk Bank also pays great attention to maintaining a high level of balance sheet liquidity and reliability of depositors' funds”, as noted in the Bank’s message.

The rating agency also noted Halyk's dominant strong local market position in corporate lending, as well as its high influence on pricing. This in turn leads to greater stability in asset quality and earnings than other domestic second-tier banks. Fitch expects this stability to continue. For these reasons, the agency rates Halyk one notch above the 'bb+' operating environment rating.

Additionally, on 19 March 2024, International rating agency S&P Global Ratings revised its Outlook on Halyk from Stable to Positive on the back of an improved Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) of Kazakhstan and enhanced regulatory supervision. In addition, the quality of assets and financial indicators of the banking system have improved significantly above the agency's expectations.

“The positive outlook for Halyk reflects our expectations of a potential upgrade of the Bank's rating in the next 12-18 months in case of further reduction of industry risks in the banking sector of Kazakhstan”, as noted in the distributed message from S&P rating agency.

The Bank's ratings are affirmed at 'BB+/B'. S&P Global noted that the banking sector of Kazakhstan in recent years demonstrates greater resilience to macroeconomic challenges.