Jusan Bank announces name change

First Heartland Jusan Bank, operating under the Jusan Bank brand, has announced its rebranding, changing its name to Alatau City Bank. The decision was made during the annual general shareholders’ meeting held on May 15. The bank highlighted that the new name reflects its strategy and ambitions.

The name will be legally changed once state re-registration is completed. The company cited further development and modernization as the reasons for the move.

«Renaming the bank is more than just changing the signage. It reflects our strategy, ambitions and vision for the future development of the financial institution. Alatau City Bank will be built on the solid foundation established by Jusan Bank, with a focus on stability, trust and long-term partnership,» said Kuat Kozhakhmetov, chairman of the board of directors.

The rebranding is not expected to affect the bank’s services, products or operations as it continues working with individuals, entrepreneurs and corporate customers. Moreover, the bank is still committed to fulfilling its obligations to the government, customers and partners. New signs will be installed at branch offices gradually.

Earlier this year, Kazakhstani billionaire Vyacheslav Kim, co-founder of fintech giant Kaspi.kz, applied to acquire 97.5% of Jusan Bank’s common shares. Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market was expected to review the application in April; however, it ended up extending the review period by another two months. In May, the head of the private fund Añsa, also founded by Kim, joined the bank’s board of directors.

In addition, Jusan Invest announced a dividend payout to Jusan Bank as its shareholder. The payout amount totals 10 billion tenge (approximately $19.5 million) for five of the past six years. Experts have attributed this move to a possible sale of the bank.

According to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the stakeholders of Jusan Bank include First Heartland Securities, with a 79.9% stake, and Kazakhstani businessman Galimzhan Yessenov, who holds 20.11%. Technically, however, Yessenov fully controls the bank, as he has owned First Heartland Securities since 2023. In April, he increased his stake to 100% by acquiring the remaining 0.25% of circulating shares.

Until 2020, Jusan Bank was controlled by three funds: two of them were controlled by the government of Kazakhstan and one by Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Interestingly, the bank’s new name may refer to a city of the same name, established following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s instruction last January. The city is part of a special economic zone that was also renamed — from G4 City to Alatau.

As of April, Jusan Bank was the sixth-largest bank in Kazakhstan by asset volume, totaling 3.3 trillion tenge (approximately $6.4 billion).