Jelena Buraja becomes Chairman of the Board of JSC Rietumu Bank

Jelena Buraja has been appointed the Chairman of the Board of JSC Rietumu Bank, having previously served as the Member of the Board of Rietumu.

As a member of the Board, Jelena Buraja was in charge of the bank's activities in the field of corporate finance and investments, legal affairs, as well as operations of a number of companies of Rietumu.

Jelena Buraja graduated from the University of Latvia. She started her career at Rietumu Bank in 2007 as a loan officer. In 2012 she became Head of the Problem Loan Division, in 2016 she became Vice President and later that year - Member of the Bank's Management Board.

In 2021 Jelena Buraja was included in the most successful Latvian businesswomen TOP 100 by Forbes magazine. Before that, in 2020, she was included in Latvia's financial industry top talent list.

“Over the past few years, the Latvian financial industry, including Rietumu, has undergone an important transformation. At this stage, on the one hand, we managed to preserve and strengthen our capital base, the team of high-level professionals, reliable and proven partners and counterparties. On the other hand, we successfully completed reorganization measures as part of the general restructuring of the banking system. Today, we are focusing our plans and resources on building a successful and sustainable future.

Almost my entire professional career is connected with Rietumu Bank, and it is a great honor and responsibility for me to head its Board. In my new position, I will continue to strive to ensure that my strength, experience and knowledge contribute to the progress and prosperity of our bank, strengthening its influence and reputation," said Jelena Buraja.

Mikhail Birzgals, who has been working at Rietumu Bank since 2003, has also joined the Bank's Management Board. During the last three years as a Vice President Michael Birzgals has been responsible for such areas of the bank's activities as payment operations, data and office administration.

Jelena Buraja and Mihail Birzgals were nominated for these positions in the Board of Rietumu Bank at the JSC Rietumu Bank Council meeting in July this year. In accordance with the requirements, both candidates were approved by the Regulator - the Financial and Capital Market Commission.