At the end of the first half of 2024, there were 437 commercial banks operating in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), according to the EEC. More than 80% of banks are concentrated in Russia, where there are 356 financial institutions. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan each have 21 banks, while Armenia has 18.

Despite Russia's dominant role in the region's banking sector, the presence of foreign banks in the country remains relatively low. There are 50 financial and credit organizations with foreign capital operating in the Russian market, which is about 14% of the total number of banks. At the same time, over the last five years, since 2020, there have been 15 fewer of them.

In relative terms, the leader in terms of the share of banks with foreign participation is Belarus, where two thirds (67%) of all financial institutions have foreign capital. In Kazakhstan at the end of the first half of 2024, there were 11 out of 21 (52%) such banks, in Armenia - 10 out of 18 (56%), and in Kyrgyzstan - 9 out of 21 (43%).

At the same time, according to the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the actual number of banks with foreign capital in the country has already reached 11, and further growth is expected. Asman Bank, established with the participation of foreign investors, will soon enter the market, and the controlling stake in Keremet Bank was sold to a foreign investor. That is, in fact, there are more banks with foreign share in Kyrgyzstan.

Since 2020, the total number of banks in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan has decreased: in Belarus - by 3, in Kazakhstan - by 6, in Kyrgyzstan - by 2. Among them, banks with foreign participation left the market: one in Belarus and two each in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.