Pohjola Pankki Oyj - Company Announcement

Decisions by Organising Meeting of Pohjola's Board of Directors

Pohjola Bank plc                                                                
COMPANY RELEASE, Release Category: Stock Exchange Release                       
26 March 2010, at 4.50 pm                                                       

Decisions by Organising Meeting of Pohjola's Board of Directors                 

At its organising meeting on 26 March 2010 held after the Annual General Meeting
(AGM), the Board of Directors of Pohjola Bank plc (Pohjola) elected members to  
the Board's committees and assessed the status of its members' independence with
respect to the Company and its major shareholders.                              

Members of the Remuneration Committee: Reijo Karhinen, Executive Chairman       
(Chairman); Tony Vepsäläinen, President (Vice Chairman); and Satu Lähteenmäki,  
Director of the Turku School of Economics.                                      

Members of the Risk Management Committee: Tony Vepsäläinen, President           
(Chairman); Simo Kauppi, Managing Director (Vice Chairman); and Harri Sailas,   
President and CEO.                                                              

Members of the Audit Committee: Tom von Weymarn (Chairman); Merja Auvinen,      
Managing Director (Vice Chairman); and Jukka Hienonen, President and CEO.       

In accordance with the Articles of Association, Reijo Karhinen, Executive       
Chairman of OP-Pohjola Group and Chairman of the Executive Board of OP-Pohjola  
Group Central Cooperative, acts as the Chairman of Pohjola's Board of Directors 
and Tony Vepsäläinen, President of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative and Vice
Chairman of the Executive Board of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative, acts as
the Vice Chairman.                                                              

The Board of Directors has assessed the independence of its members and         
concluded that Jukka Hienonen, Satu Lähteenmäki and Tom von Weymarn are         
non-executive members independent of the Company and its major shareholders.    

Based on the Board's assessment, the following members are executive members    
dependent on the Company and its major shareholders: Reijo Karhinen, Tony       
Vepsäläinen and Harri Sailas. Karhinen and Vepsäläinen sit on the Executive     
Board of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative, Pohjola's parent institution, the
former acting as its Chairman and the latter as its Vice Chairman and President 
of OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative. Pohjola is the Central Cooperative's   
subsidiary. Sailar is the President and CEO of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension         
Insurance Company is a major shareholder of Pohjola and also has a significant  
customer relationship and partnership with Pohjola.                             
Furthermore, the following members are executive members dependent on the       
Company: Merja Auvinen and Simo Kauppi. While the former is the Managing        
Director of Savonlinnan Osuuspankki, the latter acts as the Managing Director of
Länsi-Suomen Osuuspankki. Both Savonlinnan Osuuspankki and Länsi-Suomen         
Osuuspankki have a significant customer relationship and partnership with       
Pohjola.                                                                        


Pohjola Bank plc                                                                
Carina Geber-Teir        
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications                                 

DISTRIBUTION                                                                    
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki                                                             
London Stock Exchange                                                           
Major media                                                                     
www.pohjola.fi, www.op.fi                                                       


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:                                        
Reijo Karhinen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, tel. +358 (0)10 252 4500