The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has approved five new members of the ForteBank board. Specifically, this includes Anuar Bolgauov, who will oversee the legal block; Nariman Zharkinbaev, responsible for the retail block; Sergey Kartashov, heading the IT direction; Anna Pilipenko, managing the operational block; as well as Ernara Tashenov, who will manage the SME block and the branch network.
The candidacy of another board member, Alma Abilzhanova, who is expected to be in charge of corporate business, is still under review by the regulator.
Five of the aforementioned members, except for Nariman Zharkinbaev, have held leadership positions at ForteBank for several years. According to the bank's press service, Nariman Zharkinbaev's last position was at the Turkish Sekerbank, which he led from April 2020 to July 2022.
It is worth noting that on December 10, 2024, ForteBank announced personnel changes in its executive body. It was reported that Gauhar Bisembieva, who held the position of First Deputy Chairman of the Board, along with three other members: Deputy Chairmen Amirkhan Chikanayev and Aydyn Auezkanov, and Managing Director Astana Sagitov, would be leaving the bank. It was clarified that they would continue in their roles until receiving ARDFM's approval for the appointment of new candidates. From the previous composition, only one person retained their position—Deputy Chairman Ravshan Irmatov.
In January, in an interview with Forbes Kazakhstan, ForteBank Chairman Talgat Kuanychev and Chairman of the Board of Directors Timur Isataev explained that such rotations in the bank occur every three to four years. Thus, according to their perspective, there is no stagnation, and mid-level management gains new opportunities for growth. “Moreover, the previous team is not going anywhere: some remain within the group, while others go abroad to study and then return,” the bankers clarified.
As Kuanychev noted, with the new board, ForteBank does not intend to radically change its business model; it will remain a classic bank but with modern elements. At the same time, ForteBank, according to him, will be prepared for any developments, including M&A transactions.
Kuanychev himself was approved by the regulator for the position of Chairman of the ForteBank Board only on December 6, succeeding Bekzhan Pirmatov in this role. He had previously led the bank from 2015 to 2016.
The majority shareholder of ForteBank, holding an 89.01% stake, is Bulat Utemuratov (ranked 6th in the “75 Wealthiest Businessmen in Kazakhstan” and 3rd in the “50 Most Influential Businessmen in Kazakhstan” rankings in 2024 according to Forbes Kazakhstan). His net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion.