In April 2019, the shareholders' meeting of Nurbank decided to appoint a foreign banker with many years of experience, Ulf Vokurka, as an independent director of the organization. The main reason for this appointment is his experience working in foreign and Kazakhstani commercial banks, where the financier demonstrated competence and professionalism. In an exclusive interview, Ulf Vokurka discussed the future development of Nurbank.
Mr. Vokurka, tell us about your plans in Nurbank.
- There are actually a lot of plans, and all of them are ambitious. At the moment, I am actively familiarizing myself with the bank's processes, projects, and team. I can say that what I have seen so far gives promising perspectives for development. I see a great potential in the bank that is not yet fully utilized, offering significant opportunities for resource implementation. Currently, extensive work is underway to modernize the bank as a whole. This work covers literally all areas of banking: from front-office to back-office, from the head bank to service centers, from basic products for mass segments to personalized, differentiated services for the bank's most demanding clients.
My plans also include focusing on simplifying the bank's internal processes to enable more responsive reactions to market demands through the implementation of projects and team initiatives.
I expect Nurbank to become a renewed, active player in the Kazakhstani banking market by early next year, confidently winning new clients and establishing a worthy position among the leading banks in the country.
What tasks have your employers set for you?
- We have a clear understanding of the most important and urgent tasks, which we determined with the bank's shareholders. It's encouraging that our visions coincide, and now it's time for implementation.
The primary tasks include revising the organizational structure of the head bank and branches, considering the experience of major banks in the country, as well as optimizing the business processes of the head bank and improving communications with the branch network. I believe these measures will provide fresh impetus and a leap forward in the further development of Nurbank.
How do you assess the financial situation of Nurbank?
- As of the end of 2018, Nurbank is ranked 14th among the 28 operating banks in the country. The bank's credit rating is at the "B-" level according to the Standard & Poors scale. The bank's liquidity was noted as adequate, meaning it is sufficient not only to meet its obligations but also to continue lending.
In recent years, Nurbank has been intensively working on improving the quality of its loan portfolio, achieving certain successes that have, in turn, bolstered the bank's financial standing. Profits earned during this time have been consistently directed toward recapitalization, indicating shareholders' interest in strengthening Nurbank's financial position.
Will the bank's strategy change?
- Nurbank has an approved development strategy up to 2021. However, during the annual summations involving shareholders and management, the strategy is reviewed in light of specific conclusions for further implementation or adaptation of the existing development strategy.
Generally, Nurbank will continue its course of maintaining its position in the market as a universal bank offering a wide range of services and products to clients conveniently, quickly, and with quality. Naturally, considering the positive changes in the bank's operations I mentioned earlier.
I think we will primarily focus on several key, most important areas for clients in the development strategy and, over the next year or two, commit our efforts to their implementation. Some of the crucial areas currently include expanding geographical presence and increasing proximity of our branches and service centers to our clients. Convenience and accessibility of services should not be limited to a mobile app and should include accessible interactions with bank managers at the nearest branch. I am confident our clients will appreciate this initiative, and we will justify their trust.
Are you known as a crisis manager? Does Nurbank have problems?
- The label "crisis manager" was attributed to me by other media colleagues, likely based on my experience working at Kazkommertsbank and Tsentrcreditbank.
In fact, I have never been a crisis manager, as evidenced by my long and productive work at the Development Bank of Kazakhstan or, for example, at Halyk Bank. Before that, I headed the Deutsche Bank AG office in Almaty for 7 years.
I am convinced that my work at Nurbank will finally dispel this myth and allow me to focus on issues that are truly within my competence. These are matters of improving the corporate governance system, controlling and risk management, management reporting systems, and business process management related to decision-making at the board and board of directors levels. This direction will be the main focus of my work at Nurbank.