LHV Pank was founded on 9 February 1999 as the investment firm
Lõhmus, Haavel & Viisemann. In its early years, the firm focused on investment services, launching the
lhvdirect.com portal in 2000 and creating the first LHV pension funds in 2002. During this period, the company expanded its footprint across the Baltic region, opening branches in
Riga (2002) and
Vilnius (2005). In 2007, the company rebranded, adopting the
LHV logo and name. A significant transition occurred on 6 May 2009, when the company was granted a full banking license and officially became
AS LHV Pank. Following this, the bank expanded into traditional commercial banking, launching deposit and loan products and opening a branch in
Helsinki, Finland, in 2010. Between 2011 and 2014, the bank modernized its retail offering by issuing bank cards, launching a mobile app, and introducing hire-purchase services through the subsidiary LHV Finance. In 2014, the bank partnered with
ChromaWay to develop "Cuber," a
blockchain-based pilot for digital certificates of deposit, making it one of the first traditional banks to experiment with distributed ledger technology. LHV remained a fully digital, cash-free operation until August 2015, when it established its first network of ten ATMs in Tallinn and Tartu. By 2021, the bank shifted its focus toward sustainability, announcing a policy to cease financing the purchase of new diesel passenger cars after 2030. ==See also==