Coop Pank to Enhance Internal Procedures Following a Precept Issued by Finantsinspektsioon

Following an on-site inspection, Finantsinspektsioon (the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority) issued a precept requiring Coop Pank to improve its governance, internal control, risk management, regulatory reporting and lending procedures. The bank agrees with the findings and will implement the required changes within the deadlines set out in the precept in 2026 and 2027.

During the inspection, Finantsinspektsioon assessed the bank’s overall governance, internal control and risk management functions, regulatory reporting and responsible lending practices. The findings concern the organisation of governance and internal control functions, the management of operational, IT, credit and interest rate risks, supervisory reporting and lending procedures.

According to Heikko Mäe, Member of the Management Board and Chief Risk Officer of Coop Pank, the bank has already started implementing the necessary changes.

“We are working closely with Finantsinspektsioon and will implement the required changes within the agreed deadlines. We are strengthening our control functions and improving our internal rules, processes and IT systems. To date, the bank has already approved an ESG policy, updated its market risk management policy and expanded the range of scenarios used in market risk stress testing. The remaining changes will be implemented in stages, and the bank will submit supporting documentation to Finantsinspektsioon to demonstrate compliance with the requirements,” said Mäe.

“The bank has grown rapidly in recent years, and supervisory expectations towards us have increased accordingly. The findings of Finantsinspektsioon mainly concern how we have structured our internal operations and procedures, as well as the level of detail with which we document and justify our day-to-day decisions. We take these findings seriously, as sound risk management is the foundation of a bank’s trustworthiness,” added Heikko Mäe.

The precept does not affect the bank’s day-to-day operations or customer service and has no impact on the bank’s financial results reported to date.

Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The bank has 240,600 everyday banking customers. Coop Pank leverages the synergies between retail and banking to bring everyday banking services closer to where people live.

Additional information:

Kristjan Seema
Head of Marketing and Communications
Coop Pank AS
Tel: +372 5505 253
kristjan.seema@cooppank.ee