Volodymyr Popereshniuk and Vyacheslav Klymov received permission from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to become owners of BTA Bank. The decision was taken on 12 November, and it concerns 100% of the capital. The purchaser will be the company “NovaPay Invest”, and they intend to create a financial inclusion bank on its basis for people who cannot reach a regular branch. The deal has not yet been finalised; the regulator’s permission only opens the way for it.
Who is buying and from whom
The NBU approved two things at once. Popereshniuk and Klymov were allowed to jointly, via companies in the Nova group, indirectly own the bank. And “NovaPay Invest” was permitted to directly acquire the entire package, that is, 20 million ordinary shares. That company will become the shareholder. Stakes in it are roughly equal - about a third each - held by Klymov, Popereshniuk and Taras Kyrychenko, the former head of Pravex Bank.
At present the bank is controlled by Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev. The price of the deal and the date when the shares will actually transfer to the new owners were not disclosed.
This is not the first prospective buyer for BTA. As early as January 2025 the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) approved the sale of the bank to Vyacheslav Mishalov and Dmytro Shevchuk, associated with “Ye Groshi”, but that deal did not take place. In early November 2026 they withdrew their application with the NBU. The Nova owners were pursuing their own route in the meantime. In March they announced plans to enter the banking market, in June they signed a memorandum and applied to the AMCU, and on 22 October they declared their intention to purchase all the shares.
Why Nova wants a bank
The group already has NovaPay, but that is a payment company, not a bank. It handles transfers and payments, but deposits, foreign-currency accounts and full international payments require a banking licence. Those services, and new tools for entrepreneurs, are what NovaPay says it will gradually introduce.
The format of a financial inclusion bank is provided for in Ukrainian law. Such banks operate under a limited licence and must serve people and places that regular banks do not reach. This means small towns and villages, frontline and de‑occupied communities where branches have closed and communications are intermittent. Target clients include pensioners, internally displaced people, people with disabilities, servicemembers and veterans, and small businesses. The plan is to combine online services with physical points, and here Nova has an obvious advantage in the shape of its own branch network.
What bank they are buying
BTA is currently the smallest bank in Ukraine: as of 1 September it ranked 59th of 59 by assets.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Assets on 1 May 2026 | 294.9 million UAH |
| Capital on 1 May 2026 | 204.3 million UAH |
| Assets on 1 September 2026 | 338.49 million UAH |
| Profit for January-August | about 1 million UAH |
Over four months assets increased by roughly 43.6 million UAH, or 14.8%. For the Nova group this is less about immediate business and more about acquiring a ready banking licence on which to build its model.
There are still several steps to go. The transaction itself must be closed and a limited licence for a financial inclusion bank obtained. NovaPay customers will not notice anything yet, because services continue to operate as before. There are no announced launch dates for deposits or foreign‑currency accounts, no new tariffs and no decision yet on possible renaming of the bank.
