LHV granted UK Banking Licence from the PRA

By Gloria Methri

LHV Bank, the provider of banking services and SME lending solutions has been authorised as a credit institution by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

LHV Bank can now accept customer deposits and transition from being a branch of the Estonian retail bank, to a fully authorised and regulated bank by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

LHV decided to pursue a UK banking licence in 2021 and submitted its application in March 2022. Following a close collaboration with the PRA and the FCA, the bank secured the licence in just over a year

Madis Toomsalu, Chairman of LHV Bank, said, “Receiving the licence without restrictions in just over a year since submitting our application validates the exceptional work of our team and the professional operation we’ve built. We expect LHV Bank to achieve profitability by the end of our first year of operations. Our ability to generate additional capital internally positions us strongly for further growth in the dynamic UK banking market.”

Erki Kilu, the CEO of LHV Bank, added, “In addition to our existing Banking Services and SME Lending activities, we plan to start accepting retail deposits later this year and expand our banking solutions offering to e-commerce businesses, maintaining the same level of convenience, reliability, and security that our existing clients have come to expect.”

LHV Bank connects the traditional banking sector with financial services, delivering cloud-native payments and banking infrastructure. Operating in the UK since 2018, LHV is a member of all major UK and EU payment schemes.

Its extensive offering includes real-time multi-currency payments, current and savings accounts, acquiring, indirect scheme access, open banking, and FX solutions. LHV’s services are used by over 200 FinTechs including Airwallex, Currencycloud, Truelayer, and Wise.