The representative councils of the South Häme and Päijät Häme cooperative banks sealed the deal on Thursday evening. The new Hämeen Osuuspankki will start at the beginning of 2024.
The new Hämeen Osuuspankki OP Häme promises benefits for its customers, staff and the whole of Häme.
The representative councils of the South Häme and Päijät Häme cooperative banks approved the merger on Thursday evening. OP Häme will start at the beginning of 2024.
The merger will not mean any reductions in the branch network.
More resources for customer service
The new bank wants to invest even more in customer service. According to Kivimäki, the personnel has been behind the merger in both Päijät-Hämee and Kanta-Hämee.
– Now we are starting to build something new. There will be opportunities for new career paths that a bigger house can offer.
Häme cooperative banks currently have a total of more than 230 employees.
Customers do not have to do anything due to the merger of the banks, because for example account numbers, online service IDs and payment cards remain the same. The new bank has more than 104,000 owner-customers.
The current CEO of OP Päijät-Häme, Mika Kivimäki, will continue as CEO of OP Häme from the beginning of 2025.