Pohjola Pankki Oyj - Changes board/management/auditors

Markku Koponen as Deputy Member of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative's Executive Board as of 1 January 2009

Pohjola Bank plc		Company Release                                               
Release category: Changes/management                                         
12 December 2008 at 4.00 pm Finnish time (GMT+2)                             

Markku Koponen as Deputy Member of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative's       
Executive Board as of 1 January 2009                                            

Markku Koponen, Senior Vice President, Master of Laws trained on the bench and  
eMBA, has been appointed deputy member of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative's
Executive Board as of 1 January 2009. At the same time, his current area of     
responsibility will change in his capacity as Senior Vice President in charge of
OP-Pohjola Group's and Pohjola Group's corporate communications. Mr Koponen's   
new area of responsibility will be OP-Pohjola Group's integrated legal services 
and supervision of Group interests. He will remain Senior Vice President,       
Corporate Communications, until a replacement has been appointed and taken up   
his/her duties.                                                                 


Pohjola Bank plc                                                                
Markku Koponen                                                                  
Senior Vice President                                                           For more information, please contact                                            
Reijo Karhinen, Executive Chairman, OP-Pohjola Group, tel. +358 (0)10 252 4500  
Markku Koponen, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, tel. +358 (0)50
555 5151                                                                        

Distribution                                                                    
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki                                                             
London Stock Exchange                                                           
SWX Swiss Exchange                                                              
Major media                                                                     
op.fi and pohjola.fi