Coop Pank displayed substantial growth for the third year in a row

Car leasing and business loans business lines showed the highest growth, increasing their portfolios by 60% and 50%, respectively. Home loan portfolio showed the 29% and consumer finance portfolio 25% annual growth. The market share of the bank's loans was 2.3% at the end of 2019, showing the annual increase by 0.6 pp.

The quality of the loan portfolio remained high. In 2019, the provisions made on loan portfolios to account for potential future credit losses were made in sync with the growth of the loan portfolio, i.e. 39% more than in 2018.

As at the end of 2019, Coop Pank's deposits totalled EUR 507 million, having increased by EUR 122 million or 32% over the year. Term deposits increased by 34% and demand deposits by 26%. Considering the above, the bank's financing cost increased from 0.8% to 1%. The market share of the bank's deposits grew from 2.2% to 2.6%. 

In 2019 the profit of Coop Pank reached EUR 5.5 million, having grown by 16% over the year. The annual increase of bank's income was 20%. The net interest income served as the biggest contributor to the increase of income with its 23% annual growth. Fee and commission income increased by 3% year on year. The annual increase of bank's operating expenses was 20%. The biggest impact here was the increase in IT expense, which grew by 53% year on year, as well as by payroll expense with the 21% increase. 

The bank's return on equity was at 10% and the cost-to-income ratio remained at 69%.

Results for Q4
The fourth quarter of 2019 was record-breaking for Coop Pank in terms of both number of customers and growth in business volumes. The number of clients increased by 7,500 over the quarter, reaching 63,800 customers, the bank's net loan portfolio increased by EUR 42 million reaching EUR 460 million, and the volume of deposits increased by EUR 29 million, reaching the total of EUR 507 million. 

In Q4 of 2019 the bank earned the net profit of EUR 1.58 million.

Margus Rink, Chairman of the Management Board of Coop Pank, comments the results:
„2019 was a successful year for Coop Pank, we met all the set goals. For the third year in a row, we were able to increase our business volumes by 40% while increasing our profits. The results show that the distinctive strategy developed three years ago has proved successful.

The growth of the number of Coop Pank clients has accelerated year by year. At the end of 2019, the bank's customer base reached 63,800, having increased by 18,700 or 41% over the year (in comparison, the growth of 2018 was +9,000 and +4600 in 2017). The number of private clients increased by 17,100 in 2019 and the number of business customers by 1,600. 

Last year's most significant updates in client value proposition were the instant interbank payments, the opportunity to earn up to 1% pa on current account balances for private clients and up to 0.25% pa on demand deposits for corporate clients.

In cooperation with Coop, Estonia's largest retail chain, Coop Pank launched an innovative cash deposit service for retail and corporate customers at Coop's cash desks last summer. Bank customers can now make cash deposits and withdrawals at more than 300 Coop stores across Estonia. In November, we upgraded Coop Pank’s debit card customers to the highest level of Coop's loyalty programme, offering the best prices and earning 10% extra bonus points on purchases when paying with bank’s debit card at Coop stores.

In the autumn, we started offering car leasing at Coop stores, allowing the clients to familiarize themselves with new passenger car models and leasing terms, and immediately submit a pre-established leasing application.

In August 2019, we founded Coop Kindlustusmaakler (insurance broker) for providing our home loan and leasing clients with the insurance solutions that best suit their needs.

To support the growth strategy of Coop Pank, the bank issued subordinated bonds worth EUR 2 million to LHV Pension Funds. In June the shareholders decided to increase bank’s share capital by EUR 4 million. During the initial public offering of Coop Pank shares in last November the bank raised EUR 31 million and on 10 December the shares of the bank were listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange.

As at 31.12.2019, Coop Pank has 11,273 shareholders. The number of shareholders, compared to the participants in the bank's initial public offering, has increased by 421.

We want to be close to our customers, to provide innovative and very distinctive banking products and services. We will continue to implement a differentiated strategy based on the integration of banking and retailing, and work to deliver the promises to our shareholders for 2020-2022.“