Freedom Bank, part of Timur Turlov’s Freedom Holding Corp., increased its employee compensation expenses by 43.4% last year, reaching 42.3 billion tenge. According to the bank’s financial statements, this growth rate made it the leader in Kazakhstan’s banking sector by this indicator.
According to the Telegram channel Bychiy Zvonochek, personnel costs rose across nearly all banks in the industry. Nurbank increased this expense category by 40.5% to 13 billion tenge, Home Credit by 26.2% to 28.9 billion tenge, and Otbasy Bank by 22.8% to 20.6 billion tenge. Rounding out the top five in terms of payroll expense growth was Alatau City, where personnel costs reached 48.1 billion tenge (+22.7%) by year-end. Among banks that have so far published reports under Form 700-N (on balances in on- and off-balance accounts), only Forte Bank recorded a slight decline in this category (-0.4%, to 44.4 billion tenge), which may be linked to internal process optimization.
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Significant growth in employee-related expenses has continued across Kazakhstan’s banking sector for several years. This trend is largely driven by the rapid digitalization of banking services, ecosystem development, and rising costs for developers and other technical specialists. According to Finprom.kz, average salaries for technical professionals in Kazakhstan grew by more than 20% in the third quarter of last year. The highest average income among IT specialists was recorded in Astana at 975.3 thousand tenge per month, followed by Almaty at 898.8 thousand tenge and the Almaty region at 791.9 thousand tenge. Overall, the finance and insurance sector traditionally ranks among the top industries in the country in terms of salary levels.
Last year, Freedom Holding Corp., the parent company of Freedom Bank, was recognized as the best employer in Kazakhstan’s financial sector. The study noted that the holding’s attractiveness to potential employees stood at 43.46%, while its brand awareness reached 41.48%. Kaspi.kz (39.02% attractiveness, 86.44% awareness) and Halyk Bank (30.57% and 79.26%, respectively) also ranked among the top three in the financial sector.
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The increase in personnel expenses at Freedom Bank reflects the broader development strategy of Timur Turlov’s holding - evolving from a brokerage company in Kazakhstan into a multinational financial ecosystem. Today, the company operates in more than 20 countries and its infrastructure includes brokerage divisions, banks in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, insurance companies, payment systems, retail, a telecom operator, a travel service, an online cinema platform, and other services.
This year, the banking segment may expand through subsidiaries in Georgia and Turkey. Timur Turlov has also not ruled out further expansion within Kazakhstan, where he is considering the acquisition of a local bank as well as a credit institution in Europe.
“Freedom Holding’s DNA is built on advanced American business practices that have largely shaped who we are today. At the same time, we are deeply embedded in the realities of the country where we are building our core business. Moreover, I clearly understand now that without Kazakhstan and the opportunities our country has provided, Freedom as it exists today would have been impossible,” Timur Turlov said at the holding’s board meeting earlier this year.
Freedom
According to monthly data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Freedom Bank’s loan portfolio has grown by 282 billion tenge, or 35%, since January last year, surpassing 1 trillion tenge. By loan portfolio growth, the bank ranks among the top three in Kazakhstan’s banking sector. Compared with January 2025, Freedom Bank’s deposits increased by 40%, reaching nearly 1.5 trillion tenge. The majority of deposits came from retail clients - 882 billion tenge, up 1.5 times year-on-year. Corporate deposits rose by 26% over the same period to 590 billion tenge. Freedom Bank also maintains one of the lowest levels of non-performing loans in the industry, with loans overdue by more than 90 days accounting for no more than 1.31% of the total portfolio.
Freedom
Timur Turlov noted that Freedom SuperApp has played a major role in the growth of the banking segment. In less than two years, the app has become one of the most downloaded applications in Kazakhstan, reaching 4.5 million users. The company plans to increase the number of SuperApp users to 8 million by the end of this year.
