The CEO Who Wants to Make Her Bank the U.S. Gateway to Central Asia
Washington, DC – When Umut Abakirova graduated from the American University of Central Asia, she began her career as a loan officer. Two decades later, she is one of the most eminent women in Central Asia in finance: the director general of Bakai Bank, one of the greatest private lenders of the Kyrghial Republic.
Its ambition is to transform Bakai into a bridge between Central Asia and the West, a partner for American companies and investors looking for an exhibition to a neglected region but rich in resources. In an interview with Breitbart News, Abakirova argued why Washington should be careful.
“We came here to represent our country, a little but very strong country, I would say, Kyrgyzstan,” she said. “We grow very quickly. And we are ready to be transparent and to open to international cooperation. ”
An increasing bank
Bakai developed quickly. It serves more than a million customers, doubled its loan portfolio in the past two years and has Coca-Cola, KFC, Hyatt Regency and General Electric among its business customers. In 2025, he became an official partner of the UFC CIS, strengthening the visibility of his brand far beyond finances.
A Fitch Ratings report in June awarded Bakai a note “B The bank’s loan book increased at an annual rate of 38% from 2022 to 2024, while deposits jumped 64%.
Sanctions, funds and shadow of China
Abakirova has described a problem little discussed outside of the region: Kirghizes workers’ funds to Russia, which represent around a third of the country’s workforce. Western sanctions against Moscow have made official transfers almost impossible.
“Now this money arrives in our country in cash, or by crypto, or by Chinese Yuan,” she said. “Honestly, we don’t like this growing influence of China.”
She warned that sanctions involuntarily strengthen Beijing in Central Asia. “We are afraid of secondary sanctions,” said Abakirova. “But we need some assurance of the government of the United States or OFAC to make these transfers officially.”
OFAC is the common abbreviation for the control of the office of foreign assets. It is an office in the American Treasury Department which administers and applies economic and commercial sanctions against countries, regimes, groups and targeted individuals.
The demand, never published publicly, indicates the delicate position of a small state stuck between Russia and China, but the search for Western links.
Dependence is deeper than funding. “We have no choice in addition to buying gas in Russia,” she said, explaining how sanctions policies inadvertently grow her country towards alternatives to Washington would prefer to avoid. “This is why we came here.”
Bank without American banks
Despite its international awareness – KPMG audited, the deployment of Lexisnexis compliance systems manufactured in the United States and publication of its first ESG – Bakai report still faces a basic obstacle: no American bank has corresponding accounts in the Kirgatic Republic, or even in Central Asia.
“This is also a problem for our region,” said Abakirova. “We are very transparent. But we need these relationships to connect. “
Its thrust is to persuade American banks and regulators that Bakai is a credible consideration – illuminating the hearing of the four large of the bank, belonging to commercial financing associations based in Washington and its designation as a systemic bank at home.
Kyrgyzstan Abakirova sits for an face -to -face interview with John Carney (Breitbart News)
Kyrgyz itself developed at a rapid clip, with GDP growth from 9% per year from 2022 to 2024, the highest in Central Asia. The government is strengthening more renewable energy capacity, widens railways and exploits gold, lithium and rare land deposits essential to global supply chains.
“We are more open. We are more democratic, compared to other countries, and we are more open to international institutions, “said Abakirova. Its argument is that the country offers both strategic resources and political openness, making it a natural partner for the United States
“We want to be a bridge to Central Asia for America,” said Abakirova, saying that it could make the region less dependent on Russia and China.
From the CEO loan agent
Abakirova’s personal trajectory reflects his country’s ambitions. She went from the entry -level loan agent to the CEO of Bakai after the bank acquired her employer. Now, it oversees an institution with a share of 11% of sectoral assets and a 12% share of deposits, fast growing but always looking for external partners.
His meetings in Washington this summer with the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the leaders of Blackrock and Bank of America were a first step.
It has been answered if its calls for American engagement can determine whether Bakai remains a domestic success – or becomes the bridge of Central Asia to the global financial system.
