2Q26: Central Asian Banking Update
Kaspi Bank 2Q revenue +15% YoY to KZT1.1Trl, with all three platforms contributing. E-Commerce GMV rose 28% (constant prices); on top of that monetization…
Central Asia & CIS Research and Investment Portal
Institutional-grade equity research on frontier-market equities across Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan & Turkey.
Last updated: Aug 28, 2026
Central Asia / CIS Bank Monitor
| Ticker | Bank | Country | Conviction | P/BV | ROAE FY25 | Div. Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGEO | Lion Finance Georgia | Georgia | Neutral | 2.0x | 28.2% | 5.0% |
| TBCG | TBC Bank | Georgia | Neutral | 1.6x | 24.2% | 5.7% |
| HSBK | Halyk Bank | Kazakhstan | Neutral | 1.2x | 32.2% | 9.9% |
| PB | PASHA Bank | Azerbaijan | Neutral | 0.9x | 19.9% | 7.2% |
| ABB | ABB Bank | Azerbaijan | Long | 0.5x | 16.7% | 15.6% |
| KSPI | Kaspi.kz | Kazakhstan | Neutral | 3.7x | 51.1% | 5.6% |
| SKBNK | Şekerbank | Turkey | Neutral | 0.8x | 1.5% | 0.7% |
| GARAN | Garanti BBVA | Turkey | Neutral | 1.3x | 27.5% | 7.9% |
| CCBN | Bank CenterCredit | Kazakhstan | Long | 1.1x | 36.1% | 12.0% |
| HMKB | Hamkorbank | Uzbekistan | hold | 1.8x | 28.1% | 4.0% |
Top longs: Highest-conviction picks: ABB (Long — 0.5x book, 16.7% ROAE, 15.6% dividend yield) and Bank CenterCredit (Long — 36.1% ROAE, 1.7% NPL). Hamkorbank still screens strong on returns (28.1% ROAE, 30% FY26E loan growth) but is now a Hold, re-rated on valuation (10.1x FY25 P/E, 1.8x book).
Cheapest on book: ABB screens cheapest in the set at 0.5x book — on a 16.7% ROAE and a 15.6% dividend yield.
Highest ROAE: Kaspi leads on paper at 51.1% ROAE, but it's a platform, not a bank; among pure banks, Bank CenterCredit is the standout at 36.1%, ahead of Halyk (32.2%), BGEO (28.2%) and Hamkorbank (28.1%).
Kazakhstan vs Georgia: Georgia trades richer on book (BGEO 2.0x, TBCG 1.6x) than Kazakhstan (Halyk 1.2x, CenterCredit 1.1x) at comparable-or-higher returns — Kazakhstan looks like the better risk-adjusted value.
Latest Research Publications
Regular equity research notes, earnings updates, and market commentary published on Substack. Topics include quarterly earnings for Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakhstani, Uzbekistani, and Turkish banks; conviction updates; and occasional global bottom-up trade ideas.
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Georgian Banks: strong quarter but fairly valued
Lion Finance Group (Bank of Georgia) - very strong quarter. Group’s profit reached GEL618.8M (+20.6% YoY; 13% Ytd /ROAE - 27.2%). Net Operating Income…
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ABB versus PASHA Bank: Both listed Azerbaijani banks report Q2 statutory figures
ABB is on track to reach 15% annual loan portflio growth: with YTD loans to customers up 7.4% over six month. Within that, consumer loans grew 8.8%, while…
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AltynGold (ALTNA) - asymmetrick risk return
Investment thesis Proved & Probable reserves enough to produce gold for more than 70y at current pace of around 37-50 Koz/y and about 38y at target production…
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Central Asia and CIS Banks: 2Q26 earnings season revision start from Pasha Bank, Center Credit and Garanti Bank BBVA
Pasha Bank Azerbaijan - higher provisioning, targets roughly unchanged 2026 YE Net profit target were revised down to AZN176M (-17%) after realease of 2Q26…
About Investor Club Research
We publish institutional-grade research on banks and capital markets across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Occasionally, we publish high-conviction global, bottom-up, research-driven trade ideas with the potential to deliver double-digit returns.
Research by Mansur Mammadov, Equity Research Analyst.
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