Kazakh bank CenterCredit buying Alfa-Bank subsidiary in Kazakhstan

ALMATY. April 20 (Interfax) - Russia's Alfa-Bank and Kazakh bank CenterCredit have reached agreement in principle on the sale of Alfa-Bank (Kazakhstan) to the latter.

The Russian bank said in a statement that CenterCredit would buy 100% of shares in the subsidiary.

CenterCredit will rebrand the bank after the deal is legally finalized. These measures will facilitate removing Alfa-Bank (Kazakhstan) from the sanctions lists of the United States and a number of other countries.

"This will thus be a fully Kazakh bank with a full range of banking services for individuals and legal entities. CenterCredit is ready to support the bank with additional liquidity using its own funds to fulfill all obligations to depositors, thereby expeditiously resolving the current situation for existing clients," the statement said.

Alfa-Bank's subsidiary in Kazakhstan said in mid-April that it was planning a change of ownership and was holding talks with a number of investors.

After Alfa-Bank (Kazakhstan) was added to the sanctions lists of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, the bank was forced to introduce a number of temporary restrictions. The U.S. authorities allotted one month until May 6 for wrapping up operations with Russia's Alfa-Bank and a number of its subsidiaries, including Alfa-Bank (Kazakhstan).

CenterCredit was founded in 1988, has an extensive network of branches in Kazakhstan, and serves legal entities and individuals. The bank's main shareholders are the chairman of the board of directors, Bakhytbek Baiseitov, at 40.1% and board member Vladislav Lee at 9.2%.

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, CenterCredit and Alfa-Bank (Kazakhstan) held seventh and eleventh place respectively out of Kazakhstan's 22 banks by asset size as of March 1, 2022.