Banks, Estonia, Financial Services, Markets and Companies, Retail

"The new brand is in accordance with our business strategy: while so far banks and stores have operated separately in Estonia, then the planned Coop Pank will make simple banking services accessible also in Coop stores," head of the emerging Coop Pank Margus Rink said in a press release.

Bank offices of Coop Pank will be relocated to the closest Coop store buildings in Narva, Parnu, Viljandi, Kuressaare and in Tallinn's Lasnamae district.

"Unlike other universal banks which have set their focus on larger cities and closed their operations elsewhere, we are trying to be close to all people of Estonia - from Haademeeste to Alutaguse, from Tallinn to Voru. The strategy of Coop Pank is built upon the integration of banking and trade and the synergy emerging from it, which is beneficial for customers, stores and the bank and allows us to offer our services in those corners of Estonia, where other banks have closed their offices and have even taken away their ATMs," Rink said.

Coop Pank is investing approximately 1.5 million euros altogether in taking over the new brand, renovating bank offices and opening new ones. "The colors and design elements in use with the new brand express our more important fundamental values - Estonianness, Cooperativeness, regional presence. With that, we wish to clearly and identifiably be a member of the same group as Coop stores," Tiina Tali, marketing chief of Coop Pank, said.

"With the business name and brand change, we will also update our website, online bank and mobile bank, while all of the bank offices of Krediidipank will receive a uniform appearance according to the new brand," Tali said.

The Cooperative retail trade group Coop Eesti, which operates more than 350 stores across Estonia, this January acquired the shares of Eesti Krediidipank previously owned by the Russian financial group VTB. Coop's aim based on Krediidipank is to create Coop Pank, which will take advantage of the synergy created between retail trade and banking. Coop, which consists of 19 Cooperatives, has approximately 80,000 private owners and approximately 600,000 regular customers.