NBU approves purchase of BTA Bank by Nova group co-owners: launching financial inclusion banking

On November 12, 2026, the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine decided to approve the acquisition of 100% of shares of BTA BANK JSC by the co-owners of the Nova group ("Nova Poshta"), Volodymyr Popereshniuk and Vyacheslav Klimov. This was reported by the regulator's press office, as cited by RBC-Ukraine. The decision was made after analyzing the document packages submitted by the applicants. Thus, the deal, which will be the first step toward creating a new type of financial institution in Ukraine — a financial inclusion bank — has received formal approval from the regulator.

Structure of the deal: direct and indirect participation

According to the NBU's approval, Volodymyr Popereshniuk and Vyacheslav Klimov will acquire a joint indirect qualifying holding of 100% of the authorized capital of BTA BANK JSC through a number of Nova group companies. The regulator approved the direct acquisition of 100% of the financial institution's shares for NovaPay Invest LLC. At the time of the decision, the sole indirect owner of the bank was Kenges Rakishev, a citizen of Kazakhstan. After the deal is completed, the ownership structure will be entirely redistributed in favor of the Ukrainian business community associated with the logistics and IT sectors.

Financial inclusion bank: what is this institution

The acquisition of BTA Bank will allow the owners of the Nova group to implement plans to create a financial inclusion bank — a new type of financial institution that will operate under a limited banking license. The main task of such banks is to provide access to secure financial services in frontline and de-occupied territories, where, due to security risks and communication interruptions, traditional bank branches are often absent, and remote channels do not function to their full capacity. A limited license implies a simplified set of permitted operations focused on the basic needs of the population: deposit and transfer of funds, cash inclusion, and basic settlement services.

Legal framework: the 2025 law and the IMF memorandum

The possibility of creating financial inclusion banks emerged after the Verkhovna Rada passed the relevant law on June 3, 2025. The document was developed with the direct participation of the National Bank of Ukraine as part of fulfilling commitments under the memorandum with the International Monetary Fund. Including this institution in legislation became one of the conditions of the IMF's macro-financial program, aimed at strengthening financial stability and expanding population coverage with banking services under conditions of armed conflict.

Context: why the problem of financial access has intensified

According to World Bank estimates, back in 2021, the level of financial service coverage for Ukrainians was 84% against a target of 95%. The full-scale war that began in 2022 and the subsequent destruction of the network of branches and ATMs in occupied and frontline territories led to a significant intensification of the problem regarding citizens' access to basic financial services. It is under these conditions that the idea of a bank with a limited license, capable of operating in conditions of high logistical and information instability, gains practical significance. The deal with BTA Bank, approved by the NBU on November 12, 2026, became the first concrete step toward implementing this model in the market.