Nurbank reappoints Alexey Mazhuga as acting management board chairman from 20 October

The board of directors of Nurbank JSC has appointed Alexey Mazhuga acting chairman of the management board, the Kazakh bank's executive body, with effect from 20 October, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) said on 16 October. The decision, taken on 13 October, returns Mazhuga to a post he held on an interim basis in June and July, and is the third change at the top of the lender in under five months.

The bank's filing to KASE, dated 15 October, shows a three-member management board after the change: Mazhuga, Nurbek Tolymbekov and Yerlan Butin. A second KASE notice shows that a board decision of the same date named Tolymbekov, who has run the bank on an acting basis since July, acting chairman for 16 to 19 October, ahead of the handover.

Three handovers in five months

The board first appointed Mazhuga acting chairman on 1 June, according to KASE. In a statement published by the exchange on 3 June, Nurbank said Gulnara Mussataeva, chairperson of the management board since 29 September 2021, had decided to leave her post due to personal circumstances. The bank said her tenure "coincided with a period of transformation and strengthening of the bank's market position". It told Forbes Kazakhstan that the loan book grew by 35 per cent in 2025 and that the non-performing loan ratio fell from 8.33 per cent to 5.15 per cent while she was in charge. On 28 July the board appointed Tolymbekov acting chairman, while Mazhuga stayed on the management board, the bank's July filing shows.

The KASE notices give no reason for the rotation, and every appointment to the post since June has been made on an acting basis. In June the bank would not say whether Mazhuga would eventually lead it, Forbes Kazakhstan reported. The bank told the magazine at the time that its approved development strategy would continue and that operations were running as normal.

The two deputies

Mazhuga began his banking career in 1999 as a credit expert at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and later held retail lending posts at BTA Bank, according to a profile published by Kapital.kz in June. He joined Nurbank in 2008, ran its branch in Taraz, headed its leasing subsidiary Nur Leasing from 2009 to 2022 and has been deputy chairman since 17 February 2022, overseeing corporate and small and medium-sized business, the profile shows. Tolymbekov joined Nurbank as chief financial officer in 2023 after treasury, risk management and finance roles at Alliance Bank, Shinhan Bank Kazakhstan and ForteBank, and became deputy chairman in charge of finance on 27 November 2025, according to his profile on the bank's website.

The board of directors has also changed this year. Shareholders at the annual general meeting on 28 May removed A. Naumov and elected L. Tatyanina, leaving the board with five members, KASE said. The same meeting decided to pay no dividend on common shares for 2025, leaving the year's net income undistributed.

Ownership and results

JP Finance Group LLP, whose sole founder is the businessman Eldar Sarsenov, held 77.88 per cent of Nurbank's common shares on 1 July, Forbes Kazakhstan reported in July. Marko Blanusa became a shareholder with 9.98 per cent in June 2025, according to the same report.

Audited consolidated accounts show total assets of KZT 565.3 billion at the end of 2025 and net profit of KZT 11.3 billion for the year, down from KZT 13.9 billion in 2024, KASE reported. Exchange data put total assets at KZT 579.2 billion on 1 July 2026 and first-half net profit at KZT 3.9 billion, with a market capitalisation of about KZT 70 billion ($154 million), Nurbank's KASE issuer page shows. The bank ranked 17th by assets among Kazakhstan's 23 second-tier banks on 1 May, with KZT 571.4 billion, Forbes Kazakhstan reported.