How S&P and Moody's Rate Freedom Bank's Reliability

A closer look at what the assigned ratings mean and which factors the international agencies' analysts took into account

Freedom Bank Kazakhstan is rated by two international credit rating agencies at once: Moody's Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. In 2026, Moody's began covering Freedom Bank for the first time and assigned the institution a long-term rating of Ba3. Another member of the “Big Three,” S&P, raised the bank's long-term rating to BB- in June. We explain what the assessments from the largest international rating agencies mean.

In late June, S&P Global Ratings raised Freedom Bank's long-term credit rating to “BB-” with a “Stable” outlook, and also improved its national-scale rating to “kzA-”. Earlier, in March, Moody's Ratings assigned the bank a long-term deposit rating of “Ba3” with a stable outlook for the first time. It's also worth paying attention to the commentary the agencies' analysts provide in their rating action announcements.

Unlike rankings, which order banks by a specific metric — capital size, assets, deposits, and so on — a rating captures the overall picture and gives an indication of a credit institution's stability. In the case of long-term ratings, this refers to a horizon of more than a year. Rating agencies assess a bank's creditworthiness, that is, its ability to meet its debt obligations to customers, investors, and counterparties fully and on time.

Each agency uses its own methodologies and rating scales, so in the case of S&P and Moody's, for example, “BB-” from one and “Ba3” from the other are not two scores on the same scale but independent opinions that complement each other. It's important to understand that having ratings, in itself, is not a guarantee of absolute reliability, but it does give clients and partners an independent benchmark for assessing the bank's financial stability.

In Kazakhstan, only 6 out of 23 operating banks hold an S&P rating. In preparing its rating, S&P considers, among other things, the bank's market position, capital and profitability, asset quality and risk, funding and liquidity, as well as the economic and industry risks facing the country's banking system.

Over the course of a year and a half, S&P raised Freedom Bank's international credit rating twice: from B to B+ in December 2024, and to BB- in June 2026. Reaching the new BB- level indicates relatively low exposure to risk in the short term, along with a possible sensitivity to significant changes in key areas going forward.

The fact that the international agency has repeatedly raised the company's rating is primarily linked to the development of its risk management system. S&P's analysts noted a significant strengthening of the bank's compliance function — the system of rules and checks that keeps operations within the law. Experts also note that Freedom Bank has improved its control over sanctions-related risks. In addition, Freedom Bank pays close attention to information-system and cybersecurity threats, as well as to controlling regulatory and reputational risks.

S&P's “Stable” outlook indicates that, in the agency's view, a rating change is unlikely over the next 12–18 months. The agency explained that the stable outlook reflects a balanced risk profile, as well as the fact that stronger risk management and compliance will allow the bank to adequately monitor and control risks as the broader Freedom group's business continues to grow.

In March 2026, Moody's Ratings assigned Freedom Bank long-term local- and foreign-currency deposit ratings of “Ba3” with a “Stable” outlook. This assessment applies specifically to the bank as a standalone legal entity, not to the Freedom Holding Corp. group as a whole, although analysts did take into account the bank's role within the holding's ecosystem.

Moody's rating differs from S&P's not only in scale but also in calculation methodology and emphasis. Moody's, for instance, focused on the bank's ability to meet its obligations to depositors over the long term (typically more than a year), whereas S&P placed greater emphasis on risk. Moody's specifically highlighted the rapid growth of the bank's customer base and deposit portfolio, as well as its solid capitalization (the tangible common equity to risk-weighted assets ratio reached 16.1% as of September 2025).

The “Ba3” level itself means the agency views the bank's obligations as carrying moderate credit risk. For an investor or client, such a rating indicates that the bank has sufficient capitalization and liquidity to service its obligations, even though it operates amid a degree of market volatility. As with S&P, Moody's stable outlook reflects the agency's expectation that the bank will maintain balanced financial performance over the next 12–18 months.

Agencies base their decisions on the credit institution's financial statements, which cover assets, funds raised, equity capital and its adequacy, the level of credit risk, and so on. Analysts also take into account proprietary information about the company and non-public data, including data received from the rated entity itself — for example, information on its largest borrowers, collateral, and the like. Agencies also assess the bank's position relative to its competitors.

According to financial statements for the first half of 2026, Freedom Bank's assets reached 2.94 trillion tenge, up 13.9% compared with the same period in 2025. The bank's equity capital grew by 4.6%, to 258.4 billion tenge. The deposit base shows a steady trend: client funds grew by 17.4%, to 1.77 trillion tenge.

Credit risks are currently low, according to Moody's commentary: non-performing loans stood at 2.9% of the total loan portfolio as of September 2025. Reserve coverage, meanwhile, is high, at 116%. As a result, the agency expects risks to remain manageable over the forecast period.

Beyond the ratings, what matters fundamentally to individual depositors is the bank's participation in the Kazakhstan Deposit Insurance Fund (KDIF). Freedom Bank is a member of this system, which guarantees the return of funds belonging to individuals and sole proprietors within the established limits (up to 20 million tenge for savings deposits, up to 10 million tenge for current accounts and cards in tenge, and up to 5 million tenge in foreign currency) in the event of an insured event.

The S&P rating upgrade to “BB-” and Moody's “Ba3” rating broaden the set of independent assessments that clients, investors, and counterparties can use to evaluate the bank's financial stability. For a well-rounded analysis, ratings should be considered together with other financial indicators and factors.