In 1998, Ablyazov was a leading member of consortium of Kazakh investors that acquired Bank Turan Alem in a privatization auction for $72 million. He later paid back the loan. The bank later came to be known as BTA Bank. Ablyazov served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of BTA Bank from 2005 to 2009. BTA Bank increased its loan book 1,100 percent between 2003 and 2007 and held a loans to deposits ratio of 3.6 to 1 in 2007.
