The Supervisory Board of Coop Pank AS decided today, on 8 September 2025, to appoint the current Head of Corporate Banking, Arko Kurtmann, as the new Chairman of the Management Board of Coop Pank.
Arko Kurtmann’s mandate as Chairman of the Management Board will commence on 8 September 2025 and will last for 3 years.
In connection with the appointment of Arko Kurtmann as Chairman of the Management Board, the Supervisory Board of the bank decided to appoint Lehar Kütt as the new Head of Corporate Banking and a member of the Management Board. Lehar Kütt’s mandate as a member of the Management Board will also commence on 8 September 2025 and will last for 3 years.
At the same time, Lehar Kütt was appointed as a member of the Supervisory Boards of Coop Pank AS’s subsidiaries: Coop Liising AS and Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS. Lehar Kütt’s mandates as a member of the Supervisory Boards of Coop Pank’s subsidiaries will start on 8 September 2025 and will last for three years.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Coop Pank, Rainer Rohtla, stated that Arko Kurtmann will begin assembling and implementing the bank’s strategy for the next five years together with the team. “To find a new head for the bank, the nomination committee and the Supervisory Board conducted a thorough selection process. Arko Kurtmann is a strong leader with long-standing experience in banking and in building and leading teams. With his personal qualities and a strong team, Coop Pank will be successfully guided into a new growth period. As Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I can confirm that Coop Pank has ambitious goals in the Estonian banking market, and under Arko Kurtmann’s leadership, we will achieve these ambitions by building on our current strengths and developing new capabilities,” said Rohtla.
Arko Kurtmann said that Coop Pank is a business enterprise with 35,000 local owners. “We are responsible for their assets, not only preserving them but also growing them.
Our profit has been decreasing for the second consecutive year. This trend needs to be stopped quickly and profit growth restored. The decline is largely due to the external interest rate environment, but there is also much we can do internally. Easier said than done, but our direction is clear – increase revenues and cut costs.
Coop Pank shares have never been this cheap. Our share price is currently €1.9 and trading below book value. In the last 5 years, we have quadrupled our profit, but the share price has only doubled. Today we are working to double Coop Pank’s profit and thereby increase the bank’s value. We believe that this will also be reflected in the growth of the share price,” said Kurtmann.
Arko Kurtmann has been a member of the Management Board and Head of Corporate Banking at Coop Pank AS since 2020. In addition, he is a member of the Supervisory Boards of Coop Pank AS’s subsidiaries Coop Liising AS and Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS, and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Coop Liising AS. Arko Kurtmann holds a degree in Economics and Entrepreneurship from the Estonian University of Life Sciences. Currently, Arko Kurtmann owns 135,600 Coop Pank AS shares through their company Corby Capital OÜ. An option for 217,600 shares has also been granted to them.
Lehar Kütt has been Head of the Corporate Finance Business Line at Coop Pank AS since 2021. Previously, among other roles, they served as the Chairman of the Management Board of KredEx. Lehar Kütt obtained a higher education degree in Business Administration in 2022 from the Pärnu College of the University of Tartu. In 2007, he earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Tartu, and in 2019, a Master’s degree in Digital Transformation in Enterprises from Tallinn University of Technology. Currently, Lehar Kütt owns 24,372 Coop Pank AS shares and has been granted an option for 99,600 shares.
Coop Pank, a bank with Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The bank serves 219,300 everyday banking clients. Coop Pank leverages the synergy between retail and banking to bring financial services closer to where people live. The bank’s strategic owner is Coop Eesti, a domestic retail chain with a network of 320 stores across the country.
Additional information:
Kristjan Seema
Head of Marketing and Communications
Tel: +372 5505 253
E-mail: kristjan.seema@cooppank.ee
