Defying Headwinds From Baltic Scandals, Estonian Bank Plans IPO
Defying Headwinds From Baltic Scandals, Estonian Bank Plans IPO
(Bloomberg) -- An Estonian lender is planning an initial public offering in what may offer a rare bright spot in the Baltic financial sector reeling from laundering scandals.
Coop Pank AS, with a 2% share of the Estonian market, has reported a record surge in clients after Danske Bank A/S was ordered in February to leave the country. The controversy has also engulfed the local unit of Swedbank AB, Estonia’s largest lender, spurring many clients of Nordic banks to open additional accounts at locally-owned rivals. The trend has also benefited Coop’s bigger peer LHV Group, which listed shares in 2016.
Coop seeks to raise 37 million euros ($41 million) in the offering to fund expansion, according to a regulatory statement on Tuesday. The bank, which expects trading to start in Tallinn next month, has almost tripled its loan book in 3 years to 420 million euros and doubled its client volume to about 60,000, according to Chief Executive Officer Margus Rink.
Coop Pank’s predecessor Krediidipank was also in regulators’ crosshairs before it changed its name in 2017. Authorities forced it to change its business model and ownership, with retailer Coop Eesti buying a majority stake from Russia’s VTB Group that year.
Coop Pank has also exited the high-risk non-resident client segment this March, according to its IPO prospectus.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ott Ummelas in Tallinn at oummelas@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andras Gergely, Michael Winfrey
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