S&P Upgrades Ratings on Freedom Holding Corp. Subsidiaries to “BB-”

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--S&P Global Ratings has upgraded ratings on several subsidiaries of Freedom Holding Corp., a Nasdaq-listed international investment and technology group. The ratings on Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., Freedom Finance Global PLC, and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC were raised to “BB-” with stable outlooks.

S&P also upgraded the long-term Kazakhstan national scale ratings on Freedom Finance JSC and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC to “kzA-.” Earlier, the agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit ratings at “kzAAA” on the national scale and “BBB-” with a positive outlook. Freedom Holding Corp.’s rating remained at “B-” with a stable outlook.

According to S&P, Freedom has shown positive momentum in risk management both within the holding company itself and across the group’s subsidiaries. S&P said this should allow the group to more closely monitor and control potential threats within its growing business, including sanctions compliance, cybersecurity, reputational, regulatory and cryptocurrency risks.

The agency expects the group to maintain strong capitalization metrics over the next 12–24 months, despite ongoing investments in telecommunications and consumer lifestyle businesses. According to S&P, Freedom’s earnings metrics remain strong, with a three-year average operating profit-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio of approximately 2.2% for the period from March 2024 to March 2026, which remains high in an international context.

S&P also said the development of Freedom’s financial and non-financial businesses is not expected to place significant pressure on Freedom Holding Corp.’s capitalization.

The agency also highlighted Freedom’s position as one of Kazakhstan’s leading digital fintech ecosystems, noting the group’s SuperApp mobile application. Monthly active users of the app stood at approximately 2.6 million in March 2026.

In its rating update, S&P took into account Freedom Holding Corp.’s annual report for fiscal year 2026. The company reported record revenue of $2.19 billion and a twofold increase in net income to $153.3 million. Freedom also significantly expanded its client base across key business segments. The number of users of the bank’s services doubled over the year to 5.03 million, while the brokerage client base grew by 26% to 858,000 clients. In the insurance and other segments, Freedom serves around 2.2 million people. Overall, the client base of the company’s digital ecosystem across all operating markets exceeded 14 million people by the end of fiscal year 2026.

“The expansion of our digital ecosystem beyond our home region, where we built an effective business model in a relatively short period of time, is a key element of our long-term development strategy,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. “We are already seeing strong growth in Europe, are close to obtaining banking and brokerage licenses in Turkey, and are actively developing our business in the United States and the Middle East. In Kazakhstan, we have built the experience, expertise and resources needed to compete for global leadership.”

As of May 1, 2026, Freedom’s European brokerage business had reached 453,000 clients.

Freedom has also announced plans to expand its banking and digital ecosystem operations in several international markets. In early June, the company said it had applied for a banking license in France and planned to invest €500 million in developing its digital ecosystem there. Freedom also expects to invest $300 million in expanding its Turkish operations and has announced the acquisition of 99.32% of the shares of Turkish Bank. The company’s digital banking subsidiary has been operating in Tajikistan since October 2025, and in November 2025, Kazakhstan’s financial regulator granted Freedom permission to open a bank in Georgia.

About Freedom Holding Corp.
Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 22 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the common stock is included in Russell 3000® Index.