Ukrainian Alfa-Bank will be renamed Sense Bank — so as not to be “psychologically connected” to the Russian entity

The National Bank of Ukraine approved changes to the charter of Alfa-Bank of Ukraine to rename it to Sense Bank.

This was reported by the head of the supervisory board of the commercial bank, Roman Shpek, in an interview with Interfax.

"We just received a message that the National Bank has agreed to changes to the charter. But even more work needs to be done, other documents must be prepared," said Shpek.

The renaming process is planned to be completed in December this year. "Believe me, it is morally and psychologically important for us, the team, not to be associated with the Russian Alfa-Bank. This is the main reason for changing the name at this time," he emphasized.

Alfa-Bank Ukraine, according to the NBU, as of July 1, 2022, ranked 7th in terms of total assets (112.67 billion UAH) among 68 banks operating in the country.

• The founder of Alfa-Bank is Russian businessman Mykhailo Fridman. Alfa-Bank Ukraine, which is part of the Fridman group, operates in Ukraine. In June, the head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption Oleksandr Novikov said that Friedman was consulting with the Ukrainian authorities about obtaining Ukrainian citizenship and re-registering the main assets in Ukraine. In September, it became known that Friedman offered a billion dollars for a Ukrainian bank in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.