According to Lehar Kütt, who left KredEx last October, he decided to join Coop Pank because he wants to contribute to the development of a fast-growing Estonian bank and help improve the welfare of Estonian people.
“The banking market, in general, is increasingly moving towards standardized offerings, but at Coop Pank we want to better understand the business and the needs of each client and offer financial solutions based on the real requirements of people and businesses, rather than on conditions dictated by the bank. Unfortunately, the trend in the banking market is to increase the anonymity of client relations, while for us it is important that the client always has a reliable partner from the Coop Pank team with whom he can discuss his financial needs and find solutions,” said Lehar Kütt.
Head of Corporate Banking and member of the management board of Coop Pank Arko Kurtmann, said that he highly values Lehar Kütt’s managerial experience and deep knowledge of the area: “Lehar has excellent knowledge of local entrepreneurs and the financial market in general. Thanks to his previous experience, he has a very good understanding of which solutions are among the most required by Estonian companies to ensure growth and develop their business. His professionalism and expertise will help Coop Pank become an even more effective financial partner for local companies.”
Kurtmann added that the new Head of Business Financing will also play an important role in increasing Coop Pank’s loan portfolio to one billion euros. This is one of the five strategic goals of the bank to be achieved by the end of 2022.
In 2015–2020, Lehar Kütt was the head of the state financial institution KredEx and the chairman of the board of AS KredEx Krediidikindlustus. In 2016-2020 he was a member of the board of AS SmartCap, and since 2015 he has been a member of the board of FinanceEstonia, a representative organization of the financial sector. Since 2021, Lehar Kütt is also a member of the board of MTÜ Estonian Aviation Cluster. Lehar Kütt holds a master’s degree in social sciences in economics from the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in technical sciences from Tallinn University of Technology.