Kazakhstan's ForteBank more than halved the total remuneration paid to its board members in 2025. The sharp reduction in top-management pay coincided with one of the country's largest M&A deals in the financial sector — the acquisition of Home Credit Bank, reports infohub.kz.
According to a document published on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), total payments to the bank's executive body for 2025 amounted to 1.86 billion tenge. This sum includes salaries and all types of cash incentives paid to top managers during their tenure on the board.
The 2025 figure was 2.12 billion tenge (or 53%) less than the previous reporting period. In 2024, total management remuneration reached 3.97 billion tenge.
According to the audit report on financial statements, as of the end of 2025, the board of ForteBank consisted of eight members: Talgat Kuanyshev (Chairman of the Board); Ravshan Irmatov (Deputy Chairman, Chief Financial Officer); Alma Abilzhanova (Managing Director for Corporate Business); Anuar Bolgauov (Managing Director for Legal Affairs); Nariman Zharkinbayev (Managing Director for Retail Business); Sergei Kartashov (Managing Director for Information Technology); Anna Pilipenko (Managing Director for Operations); Ernar Tashenov (Managing Director for Small and Medium Business and Branch Network).
In January 2026, the composition of the executive body changed, with the powers of Ernar Tashenov and Nariman Zharkinbayev officially terminated. For comparison, as of December 31, 2024, the bank's board consisted of six members (Talgat Kuanyshev, Ravshan Irmatov, Amyrkhan Chikanayev, Astan Sagitov, Gaukhar Bisembiyeva, Aidyn Auyezkanov). Until October 31, 2024, the financial institution was headed by Bekzhan Pirmatov, who was later succeeded as chairman by Talgat Kuanyshev (officially took office on December 6).
The reduction in top-management bonuses occurred amid the bank's expansion. On April 23, 2026, it was reported that ForteBank had completed the acquisition of Home Credit Bank. The deal for the purchase of a controlling stake was estimated at 273 billion tenge, making it one of the largest mergers in Kazakhstan's banking sector in recent years.
ForteBank ranks fifth by assets in Kazakhstan and has a history of more than 25 years. It was formed in 2015 through the merger of Forte with Alliance Bank and Temirbank. The majority shareholder is Bulat Utemuratov. For 2025, ForteBank's assets totaled 6.1 trillion tenge, liabilities 5.33 trillion tenge, capital 774.9 billion tenge, and net profit 191 billion tenge. As of July 1, 2026, the bank has a profit of 68.9 billion tenge.