Estonian banking and fintech group, Iute Group AS, has entered Ukraine’s banking market after acquiring 100% of the shares in Iute Bank, a bridge bank created on the assets of the failed RWS Bank, Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund reported in a press release on Tuesday.
The deal completed the resolution of RWS Bank, which the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) declared insolvent on Nov. 4, 2025. Temporary administration was introduced a day later, and the fund launched an open competition to remove the bank from the market.
During the briefing, Iute Group founder Tarmo Sild and managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) Olha Bilai both confirmed that the NBU had carried out a comprehensive, multi-stage review of Iute Group’s eligibility as a qualified investor, assessing its financial standing, governance, and ownership structure.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund and Iute Group founders signed the deal in Kyiv.
Under Ukrainian law, the fund may resolve insolvent banks through liquidation, asset and liability transfers, creation of a bridge bank, or a direct sale to an investor. Iute Group proposed the bridge-bank model and was selected as the winner of the competition in December.
As part of the resolution plan, the fund registered Iute Bank on Dec. 17, transferring to it part of RWS Bank’s assets and retail depositor liabilities. The new bank received a full banking license on Dec. 24, clearing the way for its sale to the Estonian investor.
The share purchase agreement with Iute Group was signed in mid-December, the fund said, completing the withdrawal of RWS Bank from the market.
Olha Bilai, managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, said the transaction was carried out under tight deadlines and required coordination with multiple regulators, including the NBU and the Antimonopoly Committee.
She said the deal demonstrates that Ukraine’s bank-resolution framework remains transparent and operational despite the war, and continues to attract foreign investors.
Digital banking plans
Iute Group said it plans to recapitalize UTE Bank and bring it into full compliance with NBU requirements before launching it as a fully digital retail bank.
The bank is expected to offer core services to individuals, including deposits, consumer loans, payments, foreign exchange transactions, and cash management services.
“I see Ukraine as a major growth opportunity for Iute and for Europe,” Sild said, adding that the decision reflects confidence in Ukraine’s future and its integration into the European economic space.
The bank will be led by Artur Muravytskyi, a banking executive with more than 22 years of experience in the financial sector and who previously worked for Ukraine’s TASCombank.
What is Iute Group?
Founded in 2008 in Tallinn, Iute Group is an Estonian financial technology group specializing in consumer lending, microloans, installment financing, payment services, insurance, and digital banking.
As of the end of September 2025, the group’s total assets stood at €486.6 million ($564.5 million), including €336.6 million ($390.5 million) in issued loans. Its outstanding loan portfolio totaled €406.9 million ($472 million), while net profit for the first nine months of 2025 reached €8.5 million ($9.9 million).
Iute Group serves more than 265,000 active customers and operates in four countries. Moldova is its largest market, accounting for 53% of assets, where the group owns Energbank. Albania represents 28% of its assets, followed by North Macedonia with 14.5% and Bulgaria with 4%.
The group’s business model relies heavily on capital market funding, including bond placements on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, typically at yields of 10-11%, which are then used to finance higher-yield consumer loans.
Iute Group attempted to operate in poorer markets, such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Moldova, but operations in those countries have either ended or sparked disputes.
Previously, the group posted its official press release about the ongoing legal dispute between the National Bank of Moldova and certain ex-shareholders of EnergBank. Iute Group replied to Kyiv Post’s question that it currently has no regulatory disputes in Moldova, where it owns Energbank and where its chief executive serves as chairman of the supervisory board.
In Kosovo, the group entered and left the market, describing the outcome as the realization of geopolitical and investment risk: an international arbitration confirmed the state’s sovereign right to revoke licenses while also rejecting allegations that the investor was unfit or improper. The recovery of assets remains unresolved due to local implementation issues.
Separately, the group said it exited Bosnia and Herzegovina after concluding that fragmented governance and limited digital public administration made sustainable digital banking unviable – an experience it contrasts with Ukraine’s current trajectory, according to the founder.