NASDAQ-listed Kazakhstan-headquartered fintech Freedom Holding Corp. has received regulatory approval to acquire Turkish Bank A.Ş., clearing the path for its entry into Turkey’s banking market. The transaction is more than a banking deal – it is a key step in the group’s long-term effort to expand its digital multi-industry ecosystem from Kazakhstan into Turkey, Europe, and, eventually, the United States.
Green Light from Ankara
Freedom Holding’s plans to acquire a 99.32% stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş. from Özyol Holding and the National Bank of Kuwait were first announced by Freedom Holding founder and CEO Timur Turlov late last year. The share purchase agreement was signed in February 2026, but the transaction remained subject to regulatory approval before it could close.
That process is now complete. On July 1, 2026, Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş., a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp., announced that Türkiye’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) had authorized the acquisition. The transaction gives Freedom access to Turkey’s 86-million-strong market, creating significant growth opportunities for its digital fintech ecosystem.
Nowadays, Turkish Bank’s core businesses include corporate, commercial, retail and private banking, as well as project finance and fund management. As of the end of March 2026, the bank ranked 47th out of 58 banks in Türkiye by assets, according to the Banks Association of Türkiye (TBB). It operates a network of six branches across the country. Despite the bank’s modest size, the acquisition represents a strategic opportunity for Freedom to bring its technology-driven financial solutions to the Turkish market.
The Integration Begins
Upon closing, Turkish Bank A.Ş. will gain access to Freedom’s expertise in digital financial services, technology-driven distribution and client-focused product development.
“BRSA approval is an important step toward implementing our strategy in Türkiye,” said H. Cenk Eynehan, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş. “Following completion of the transaction, we will have the opportunity to combine the heritage and market position of an established Turkish banking institution with Freedom’s technology, entrepreneurial culture and international expertise.” According to Timur Turlov, “Türkiye is a strategic market for Freedom, and the holding has a clear understanding of what it wants to build there.”
Scaling The Ecosystem
The acquisition of Turkish Bank is a logical extension of Freedom Holding’s existing infrastructure in the region. Freedom Finansal Hizmetler, established in 2022 to support the holding’s expansion into Turkey’s financial market, has already received regulatory approval to establish its own brokerage firm, Freedom Yatirim (Freedom Investment Securities Inc.), in Turkey. Together with Freedom’s brokerage and capital markets operations, the bank will enable the group to offer clients a more integrated financial experience spanning everyday banking, payments, savings, lending and investment services.
Over time, the platform is expected to expand beyond financial products into non-financial services. According to Timur Turlov, the goal is to build a fully integrated ecosystem modeled on the one that Freedom has already developed in Kazakhstan, the group’s home market and the first country where the ecosystem was launched. It combines multiple business lines, where financial services are complemented by lifestyle offerings, including e-ticketing, travel and e-grocery, as well as telecom and media services, all accessible through the Freedom mobile SuperApp.
“In Kazakhstan, we have already proven that a digital ecosystem can become part of people’s everyday lives, where financial services and advanced digital products are offered together through a single platform, allowing them to complement and strengthen one another,” Turlov said. In Turkey, the banking and brokerage businesses will serve as the foundation for the broader ecosystem rollout, for which the group plans to invest approximately $300 million.
Spanning Across Markets
Freedom Holding’s expansion in Turkey is part of the group’s broader strategy of building its own digital infrastructure across the markets where it operates (the holding’s current geographic footprint spans 22 countries).
Thus, in Europe in early June, Freedom Holding Corp. announced that it had applied to France’s financial regulator for a banking license. The move will complement its existing European brokerage business and lay the foundation for the development of its regional digital ecosystem, with investments estimated at €500 million.
The next step will be the rollout of the ecosystem’s travel segment across Europe. Freedom Travel, the group’s travel-focused subsidiary, plans to enter the European market in 2026 with a full range of travel products, including a global hotel aggregator, transfers, excursions, curated tours, and visa support. Over time, by offering a comprehensive suite of travel products integrated into its SuperApp, the holding expects to increase its broader ecosystem user base from the current 14 million to 50 million and compete with industry leaders such as Booking.com and Airbnb.
Freedom Holding Corp. also intends to replicate its ecosystem in the United States, where it already operates a brokerage business. The plan is either to obtain a fintech license or to partner with a local bank.
Moving to the S&P 500
Expanding U.S. presence is also part of Freedom’s longer-term ambition to join the S&P 500, the benchmark index of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies. Timur Turlov believes the goal is achievable.
The challenge, according to Freedom’s CEO, is that companies must have a market capitalization of at least $20.5 billion to meet the index’s eligibility criteria – roughly 2.5 times Freedom’s current valuation. The S&P Index Committee also considers a range of other factors, including share liquidity, capital structure, sector representation and financial strength. But given Freedom’s financial performance and its position in the U.S. market, it is possible, analysts believe.
According to Freedom Holding’s annual report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, net revenue reached a record $2.19 billion, up from $2.0 billion a year earlier. Since the company’s 2019 Nasdaq listing, that figure has increased more than 26-fold. Net income more than doubled to $153.3 million from $76.2 million in fiscal 2025, while earnings per share increased to $2.56 from $1.28. Customer growth was recorded across all business segments. The number of banking customers rose from 2.515 million to 5.026 million, brokerage clients increased from 683,000 to 858,000, and customers in the company’s other businesses grew from 605,000 to 1.105 million.
Freedom’s strategy and business model have also gained recognition from both investors and independent market institutions. The group is a member of the Russell 3000 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies and represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. Among its shareholders are some of the world’s largest institutional investors, including BlackRock, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and hedge funds Citadel and Millennium Management.
Combined with strong credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P Global (the latest were recently upgraded to BB-), this underscores Freedom’s growing standing in the U.S. financial market and provides a solid foundation for the holding’s next phase of expansion.