In the first half of 2009, Nurbank demonstrated significant growth across several key financial metrics. As of July 1, 2009, the bank ranked 9th among all second-tier banks in terms of asset size and 7th in terms of loans to customers. The most impressive results were seen in net profit: in January 2009, Nurbank was ranked 11th, now it's 8th among 38 banks operating in Kazakhstan and 4th among Kazakhstani banks. Net profit for the first 6 months of 2009 increased almost 4.5 times, from 129 million tenge on January 1, 2009 to 570 million tenge on July 1, 2009.
Thanks to the timely fulfillment of obligations both on external and internal loans, Nurbank significantly improved its funding structure. After the repayment of the last syndicated loan of $100 million in April and the redemption of the 4th coupon bond issuance of 10 billion tenge, the majority of Nurbank's funding structure now consists of the deposit base (62%). Timely coupon payments of $7 million every 6 months are being made on the Eurobonds maturing in 2011. Loans within trade finance for the first half of 2009 repaid about 12,738 million tenge. Additionally, Nurbank signed an agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation for $5 million in April 2009.
One of the most significant achievements is the increase in trust towards the bank, as evidenced by the increase in client funds placed in the bank. Term deposits as a whole increased by 16%: term deposits of individuals increased by 58% (9,068 million tenge), and term deposits of legal entities by 10% (12,041 million tenge).
The loan portfolio increased by 7.8% (19,798 million tenge), with SME lending up by 73.6%. Importantly, from July last year to July this year, the loan portfolio increased overall by 70%. This rapid growth in the credit portfolio occurred both from the bank’s own resources amounting to 69 billion tenge and from funds under the Damu Fund program totaling 14 billion tenge.
Overall, there was a 4.5% increase in the client base from January 1, 2009, to July 1, 2009, with the number of individual clients increasing by 4.5% and the number of corporate clients by 5.0%.
The bank continues to actively expand its branch network: during the year, 17 additional branch offices were opened across all main regions of Kazakhstan. A branch was also opened in Semey, and the second Almaty branch achieved VIP-center status.
Nurbank is investing significant funds in developing its card business: the number of ATMs increased by 15% over the year. A deal has been concluded to acquire 100 more ATMs with financing for 5 years through one of the European banks.
Commenting on the bank's performance in the past half-year, Nurbank CEO Marat Zairov emphasized that the impressive results reflect the bank’s strategy to take leading positions in the country's banking sector. “I have repeatedly said that now is a good time for medium-sized banks to make a qualitative leap. The dominance of large banks has been disrupted, and we see this period as an opportunity to become a leader in Kazakhstan's banking system. I view our current successes as a harbinger of more achievements to come, as the first fruits of the daily diligent work of the entire Nurbank team. It is especially gratifying that this coincides with the bank's anniversary—we celebrated the bank’s 17th anniversary on August 3. The best gift for us was the results of our activities,” noted Mr. Zairov.
Moreover, according to the head of Nurbank, demonstrating growth in key metrics is not a reason for complacency, but a stimulus for further achievements. Therefore, Nurbank is looking for new opportunities to provide additional services to its customers. At the beginning of July, the bank joined the State Program for refinancing mortgage loans, and now it's launching a new mortgage program—‘Nur Zhausyn’.
The ‘Nur Zhausyn’ can be interpreted as a wish for prosperity and well-being. Therefore, we named our mortgage program ‘Nur Zhausyn’ as a wish of prosperity to all our clients,” explained Mr. Zairov.
The ‘Nur Zhausyn’ program is launched at a time when almost all banks are reducing mortgage lending. “It is no coincidence that we are launching our mortgage program now,” emphasized the head of Nurbank, “most banks have stopped providing mortgage loans, although people still need housing. Nurbank, at a time when everyone was caught in the construction frenzy and real estate speculation, approached mortgage and construction sector lending very conservatively. Consequently, we don't have huge problems related to the real estate market on our balance sheet. This allows us to help people solve their housing problems by providing them with mortgage loans.
The ‘Nur Zhausyn’ mortgage program involves allocating funds for acquiring real estate. Loans are issued for a period of up to 20 years, with the maximum loan amount up to 70% of the total property value. The nominal rate at the current date is 12.6% per annum. Bank customers have the option to engage a co-borrower or guarantor for the loan. Nurbank, on its part, guarantees prompt consideration of applications. If the client wishes, they can partially or fully repay the loan without any penalty from the bank.
In conclusion, Mr. Zairov noted that Nurbank still aims to increase its market share, modernize its product line—for both individuals and legal entities, develop new technologies, strengthen sales channels for banking products, and improve service quality. In connection with this, the bank has launched the ‘Client is Always Right’ campaign. “We have, without exaggeration, launched a total fight to improve service quality,” declared the CEO, “and will monitor this with the utmost attention.” According to Mr. Zairov, all this together can advance the bank into a leadership position in the financial services market in the near future.