Kazakh financial services firm Freedom Holding Corp. said on Wednesday it has received approval from Türkiye's banking regulator and antitrust body to acquire a 99.32% stake in Istanbul-based lender Turkish Bank.
The deal covers only Turkish Bank's domestic operations, with its businesses in the island of Cyprus and Britain excluded.
The acquisition provides Freedom Holding with direct access to the Turkish banking market, which serves a population of nearly 90 million people.
Freedom Holding provides banking, brokerage and other services in its core Central Asian markets, and has been looking to expand into other geographies, including Türkiye, Pakistan and Europe.
The Turkish Bank Group began its operations in Türkiye in 1982 by opening the Istanbul branch of Turkish Bank Limited, which had been established in Cyprus.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Istanbul-headquartered Turkish Bank A.Ş., operated 6 branches and 8 ATMs across the country with a paid-in capital of TL 600 million ($12.85 million in current prices), according to the lender.
