S&P Revises Outlook for Freedom Holding Corp. Subsidiaries to Positive
July 01 2024 - 1:16PM
Business Wire
- Ratings affirmed for Freedom Finance JSC;
Freedom Finance Europe Ltd.; Freedom Finance Global PLC and Freedom
Bank Finance Kazakhstan at “B/B” and for Freedom Holding Corp. at
“B-.”
- Outlook for Freedom Holding Corp.
subsidiaries revised to positive from negative.
- Outlook for Freedom Holding Corp. revised
to stable from negative.
Freedom Holding Corp. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FRHC), a
multi-national diversified financial services holding company with
a presence through its subsidiaries in 20 countries, today
highlighted an S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) report published
on June 28, 2024.
Among other aspects, the S&P report remarked that the
ratings for Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Europe Ltd.,
Freedom Finance Global PLC and Freedom Bank Finance Kazakhstan (now
known as Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC) were affirmed at “B/B” with
outlook revised to positive from negative and the rating of Freedom
Holding Corp. itself has been kept at “В-” with an outlook revised
to stable from negative.
As the rationale for its rating action, S&P noted lower
economic risk and improving banking sector supervision in
Kazakhstan. S&P stated that it expects the country's GDP to
grow by 3.6% on average per year over the next four years.
S&P also noted that it expects that moderating balance-sheet
growth coupled with strong earnings will support the Company’s
strong capitalization. “We expect Freedom will maintain its strong
earnings in 2024-2025, supported by revenue diversification with
the buildup of banking and insurance activities in Kazakhstan. Its
three-year average (March 2022-March 2024) core earnings to S&P
Global Ratings risk-weighted assets were stable at about 3.4%, a
high risk-adjusted earnings ratio in an international context. The
contribution of banking activities to the group's revenue and
assets has significantly increased over the past two years,”
S&P said in its press release issued on June 28, 2024, which
can be found here:
https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3204976
S&P also pointed out the gradual building of Freedom Holding
Corp.’s consolidated risk management framework since 2023. S&P
noted that the Company has recently hired a chief risk officer,
chief compliance officer, and chief legal officer and has expanded
its board of directors from six to seven members, including four
being independent directors. They also noted that by March 2024 the
Company had terminated its omnibus brokerage relationship with its
Belize affiliate and had transferred clients of that affiliate to
companies within the Company’s group.
S&P can raise its ratings on the operating subsidiaries over
the next 12 months if it concludes that steps to build aggregated
risk management and compliance and strengthen risk governance would
endure while the Company’s capitalization (as measured by S&P’s
RAC ratio) remains above 10% supported by strong earnings and
moderated growth.
About Freedom Holding Corp.
Freedom Holding Corp., a Nevada corporation, is a diversified
financial services holding company conducting retail securities
brokerage, securities trading, investment research, investment
counseling, investment banking and underwriting services,
mortgages, insurance, and commercial banking as well as several
ancillary businesses which complement its core financial services
businesses, all through its subsidiaries, operating under the name
Freedom24 in Europe and Central Asia, and Freedom Capital Markets
in the United States. Through its subsidiaries, Freedom Holding
Corp. employs more than 6,000 people and is a professional
participant in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Astana
International Exchange, the Republican Stock Exchange of Tashkent,
the Uzbek Republican Currency Exchange, and is a member of the New
York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
Freedom Holding Corp. is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan,
and has operations and subsidiaries in 20 countries, including
Kazakhstan, the United States, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, Uzbekistan,
and Azerbaijan, among others.
Freedom Holding Corp.'s common shares are registered with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and are traded
under the symbol FRHC on the Nasdaq Capital Market, operated by
Nasdaq, Inc.
To learn more about Freedom Holding Corp., visit
www.freedomholdingcorp.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements, including
with respect to the potential of Freedom Holding Corp. and its
subsidiaries for improved ratings from rating agencies such as
S&P Global Ratings, among others, its capacity to continue to
enhance corporate governance, risk management and governance, and
compliance and with regard to the Company’s future capitalization,
earnings and growth. All forward-looking statements are subject to
uncertainty and changes in circumstances. In some cases,
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"expect," "new," "plan," "seek," and "will," or the negative of
such terms or other comparable terminology used in connection with
any discussion of future plans, actions, and events.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or
performance and involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that
could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the
events or results described in, or anticipated by, the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect
such forward-looking statements include certain economic, business,
and regulatory risks and factors identified in the Company's
periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made only
as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240701262999/en/
Ramina Fakhrutdinova (KZ) Public Relations
Freedom Finance JSC +7 777 377 8868
pr@ffin.kz
Natalia Kharlashina Public Relations Freedom
Finance Global +7 701 364 1454
prglobal@ffin.kz
Al Palombo (US) Global Communications Chief
Freedom US Markets +1 212-980-4400, Ext. 1013
apalombo@freedomusmkts.com
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