It's official — Ukraine has a new bank
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Ukraine will have a new bank on its books as of tomorrow, after Estonian fintech Iute Group finalized its entry into the market on March 16 — the first foreign bank to enter the country's competitive banking sector since 2021.
Representatives from Iute and Ukraine's Deposit Guarantee Fund announced on Monday at a press conference in Kyiv that Ukraine's central bank had approved the sale, paving the way for the bank to begin operations tomorrow.
Iute purchased a bridge bank from Ukraine's guarantee fund in January this year — the 'skeleton' of RwS Bank, which was declared insolvent and liquidated by the National Bank of Ukraine in November 2025.
As part of the sale, Iute took on a selected pile of assets and liabilities from RwS, and was required to inject a minimum of Hr 200 million ($4.5 million) to capitalize the bank. It actually injected Hr 290 million ($6.5 million), Artur Muravytskyi, who will lead the bank in Ukraine, said at the press conference.
The National Bank confirmed on March 13 that Iute had met all regulatory requirements. The guarantee fund gave the final go-ahead today, meaning that Iute will lose its status as a bridge bank and, from tomorrow, operate as a new player, under the name Iute Bank.
"Our focus now is on building a digital bank that provides everyday financial services for customers in Ukraine," Tarmo Sild, CEO of Iute Group, said.
Muravytskyi said that they are aiming to attract 300,000 customers over six years, from the 20,000 they have now, which they carried over from RwS.
Iute Bank will launch digital services this year for existing clients, including a mobile application in the summer, and will launch for the general public in 2027, Muravytskyi said.
Ukraine's banking market is highly competitive and profitable, with big incumbent players. Sixty banks operate in Ukraine, which reaped almost $3 billion in profits in 2025, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
PrivatBank and Oschadbank are Ukraine's biggest banks, both state-owned. Monobank, a digital-only neobank founded in 2017, is an extremely popular bank offering sleek digital services — and likely to be Iute's key competitor.
One popular Monobank product is their "jar," a frequently used way of crowdfunding for the military.
Iute also serves customers in Moldova, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
