If the representative councils decide in February that OP Päijät-Häme and OP Etelä-Häme will merge, the new Hämeen Osuuspankki will start at the beginning of 2024.
Two large cooperative banks are planning to merge in Häme. Päijät-Hämeen Osuuspankki and Etelä-Hämeen Osuuspankki, both based in Kanta-Häme, announce their intention to merge into Hämeen Osuuspankki.
The new bank would have a total of more than 104 000 owner-customers. The more than 230 employees of the two banks would be transferred to Hämeen Osuuspankk as former employees, and the bank’s operations and administration would be shared equally between the regions. The bank would be based in Hämeenlinna and have its head office in Lahti.
The intention is that the branches of both banks will continue to operate after the merger. Currently, Etelä-Hämeen Osuuspankki has branches in Hämeenlinna, Riihimäki, Lope and Hattula. Päijät-Hämeen Osuuspankki has branches in Lahti, Heinola and Iitti.
The banks’ representative boards will decide on a possible merger at their meetings on February 16, 2023. If the banks merge, Hämeen Osuuspankki will start operations at the beginning of 2024.