In the new episode of CBS News’s “A Moment With…”, Mrs. Umut Shayakhmetova, CEO of Halyk Bank, shares how she became the CEO of the largest bank in Kazakhstan, how Halyk built its reputation, and what the future holds for the bank.
Digitalization of banking became one of the main tendencies in the financial sphere all over the world, but for Kazakhstan, this direction of financial development plays a special role. According to the latest UN E-Government Report, Kazakhstan takes 15th place out of 193 countries in the E-Participation Index and has one of the highest global scores in the Online Service Index, including the leading position in Central Asia. This achievement could not be possible without total digitalization of the banking sphere, where Halyk Bank plays the main role.
Halyk, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023, emphasizes developing customer services and creating a favorable customer experience, which includes digitizing most of the banking operations and other, no less important for life, services. The retail app, Halyk SuperApp, provides all individuals not only banking services, but also contains sections on public services (e-government), marketplace (Halyk Market), investment service (Halyk Invest), travel ticket purchase service (Halyk Travel), and entertainment service (kino.kz). By digitizing all these operations, Halyk’s retail customers receive a unique and better user experience than visiting the branches on every small issue.
The digitalization of services is one of the few examples of high adaptability, performed by Halyk. During its century-long history, the bank has been able to go through many challenges, both domestic and international. Halyk was able to walk smoothly and confidently through the widespread privatization after the collapse of the USSR; the 2008 global financial crisis; the acquisition of KKB to overcome nationwide banking problems, and other geopolitical, financial, and reputational challenges. During this time, such a large financial institution as Halyk has become for many a haven of stability in such an unstable area of the economy.
«I am proud that Halyk was able to rebuild itself. We have a legacy of our old systems and old procedures. Even some of them are from Soviet Union times. However, Halyk was able to transfer to the digital and very modern financial institutions for several times with a wider range of services, including banking and non-banking operations. And, also, by keeping this very high reputation as a very stable and trustful financial institution», – shares Mrs. Umut Shayakhmetova, CEO of Halyk Bank, about the bank’s adaptability to changes
The high reputation built around Halyk is not only the result of laborious work on customer services and confident crisis management but also the values around which the company is built. Halyk’s values are expressed in the multitude of ESG activities, social projects, and charity that the bank implements each year.
Being the largest bank in one of the world’s most developing countries is a great social responsibility. Halyk is fully in line with its position as the only system bank in Kazakhstan, confirming the trust provided by its clients.
«We have the highest ratings and, what is more important, we have the highest trust among the population. So, people trust Halyk. They know that we are strong. They know that we are the best. And they come to Halyk».
