Estonia’s LHV Bank has been granted a UK banking license by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), becoming the first company to receive a UK license without restrictions in 2023. LHV Bank will now transition from a branch of Estonian AS LHV Pank to a fully regulated UK bank through the Business Transfer process.
Facts
- LHV Bank has been granted a UK banking license by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
- LHV Bank has offices in London, Leeds, Manchester, and Tallinn, and has more than 10 million customers.
- LHV provides banking services and lending services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- LHV acquired Bank North’s SME lending business last year and has received regulatory clearance from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to start issuing SME loans.
- Last year, LHV Bank claims it processed more than 25 million payments worth more than £90 billion.
- LHV Bank intends to expand its operations to retail deposits and offerings for e-commerce businesses.
- LHV Bank’s chair, Madis Toomsalu, expects the bank to achieve profitability by the end of its first year of operations, positioning it strongly for further growth in the dynamic UK banking market.
