An official ceremony marking the opening of BNK Commercial Bank’s office in Almaty took place today. The bank is the first foreign bank in Kazakhstan established through the transformation of a microfinance organization into a bank. The launch follows extensive work by the BNK team, its advisors, and specialists of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.
The entry of a foreign bank into the Kazakh market is in line with the instruction of the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to attract reliable foreign banks to Kazakhstan and enhance competition in the banking sector. This initiative was announced in September 2023 in the President’s Address to the People of Kazakhstan.
The opening ceremony was attended by the leadership of BNK Financial Group and representatives of its subsidiaries, including BNK Busan Bank, BNK Kyongnam Bank, and BNK Capital. The group’s total assets amount to approximately USD 114 billion, with equity capital of about USD 8 billion.
“This event is of historic importance for Kazakhstan’s banking sector. BNK Commercial Bank is the first foreign bank established in Kazakhstan through the transformation of a microfinance organization into a bank. It is also the first banking license issued in Kazakhstan in the past 15 years, and the first foreign bank to obtain a banking license in Kazakhstan as part of the implementation of the President’s instruction to attract international financial institutions,”
said Madina Abylkassymova, Chairperson of the Agency.
The bank has identified lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as its main strategic priority in Kazakhstan. Supporting SME financing is a key component of Kazakhstan’s economic policy and an important priority for the development of the country’s financial sector. In the first half of the year, the SME loan portfolio reached USD 26.7 billion, representing an increase of 8 percent.
The opening of BNK Commercial Bank also represents an important step toward strengthening trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea.
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market issued BNK Commercial Bank a banking license on 25 June 2025.