S&P Global Ratings has revised the outlook on Freedom Holding Corp and four of its core subsidiaries from stable to positive, citing an improved assessment of banking-sector risks in Kazakhstan, stronger capitalisation and diversified earnings.

The ratings agency affirmed the long- and short-term issuer credit ratings of the operating subsidiaries at BB-/B, while Freedom Holding Corp’s rating remained at B-.

“The positive outlook is a meaningful vote of confidence in the direction of Freedom24 and the wider group,” said Evgenii Tiapkin, CEO of Freedom24.

“It recognises the discipline we have built across capital management, compliance and risk governance,” he added.

S&P also raised the Kazakhstan national-scale ratings of Freedom Finance JSC and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC to kzA from kzA-.

The subsidiaries covered by the latest action are Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Global PLC, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC and Freedom Finance Europe Ltd, which operates under the Freedom24 brand.

The outlook revision represents the group’s second positive rating action since June.

On June 24, 2026, S&P raised the long-term issuer credit ratings of the four operating subsidiaries from B+ to BB-, with stable outlooks, citing continued progress in developing consolidated risk management and compliance functions across the group.

S&P subsequently revised its industry risk score for Kazakhstan from 7 to 6, pointing to continued improvements in banking regulation and supervision, capital accumulated within the financial system and the country’s sovereign strength.

The agency said these factors were expected to support financial stability, while the industry risk trend was now considered stable.

Following Kazakhstan’s sovereign rating upgrade to BBB/A-2 on August 21, 2026, S&P also moved its economic risk score for the country to positive.

S&P expects currently elevated inflationary pressures in Kazakhstan to ease, which it said would raise real disposable income and increase participation in financial markets.

The agency also pointed to bank deposits in Kazakhstan currently offering interest rates of more than 10 per cent.

It expects a lower interest-rate environment to make the securities market more attractive to savers and improve operating conditions for securities firms.

S&P said targeted moderate balance-sheet growth and strong earnings diversified across sources and geographies were expected to support the group’s capitalisation.

The agency also highlighted the group’s work to establish aggregated risk management and consolidated compliance across a complex structure spanning multiple subsidiaries and jurisdictions.

In its assessment of Freedom’s stand-alone credit profile, S&P described the group as “the largest retail brokerage franchise in Kazakhstan, with an expanding presence in Europe”, complemented by banking and insurance operations.

The positive outlook comes against the backdrop of strong financial results reported by the group for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, covering the three months ended June 30, 2026.

Total net revenue increased by 40 per cent year on year to $732.5 million, driven primarily by the brokerage and banking businesses.

Total assets reached $14.0 billion, up from $13.2 billion at the end of March 2026, while net income for the quarter stood at $31.7m.

S&P said the revised outlook reflected the possibility that it could raise its assessment of economic risk in Kazakhstan over the next 12 months.

Such an improvement would raise the anchor used for banks and securities firms with predominantly domestic risk exposure.

Any upgrade of the operating subsidiaries would be conditional on such an improvement in the economic risk assessment.

“For us, the message is clear: sustainable growth must be earned through strong fundamentals,” Tiapkin said.

“As Freedom24 expands across Europe, we will continue to scale the business without compromising the standards that underpin client trust,” he concluded.