OKO Pankki Oyj - Company Announcement

OP BANK GROUP CHANGES NAME TO OP-POHJOLA GROUP, AND OKO BANK TO POHJOLA BANK

Op Bank Group Central Cooperative	COMPANY RELEASE: Stock Exchange Release       
OKO Bank plc	12 September 2007 at 10.40 am                                    

OP BANK GROUP CHANGES NAME TO OP-POHJOLA GROUP, AND OKO BANK TO POHJOLA BANK    

The name of OP Bank Group will change to OP-Pohjola Group and OKO Bank Plc to   
Pohjola Bank plc. The new names will combine banking, investment and non-life   
insurance operations and two strong Finnish brands with long traditions. The    
decisions concerning the name changes and the proposals to OKO Bank's           
Extraordinary General Meeting were made today at the OP Bank Group Central      
Cooperative's Supervisory Board and OKO Bank's Board of Directors.              

"The new name of the Group describes the comprehensive range of our services,   
the size of the Group and its strong Finnish roots," says Reijo Karhinen,       
OP-Pohjola Group's Executive Chairman.                                          

"It was exactly two years ago that the Group decided to enter the non-life      
insurance business with the purchase of Pohjola.  The integration of operations 
that followed has progressed fully according to plans and the related structural
reorganisation has been completed."                                             

According to Karhinen, the name change is the icing on the cake after two years 
of integration, and continues, "It follows logically that the reformed Group    
should officially start using the name that so well describes its current status
as the leading financial services group in Finland."                            

One name, brand and corporate culture for OKO Bank                              

The Pohjola acquisition changed OKO Bank's structure and business content       
dramatically, and the name change will bring all operations under a single name 
and brand.                                                                      

"The Pohjola brand is extremely well known by consumers, businesses and other   
organisations. Half of OKO Bank's business concerns non-life insurance and the  
other half is mainly done with large companies and organisations. Therefore     
Pohjola was an appropriate name for the company that had undergone such a major 
shift," says Mikael Silvennoinen, President and CEO of OKO Bank.Two years ago   
OKO Bank plc bought the share majority of what was then Pohjola Group plc and   
later bought the entire share capital. It was agreed in connection with the deal
that the OKO Bank Group will retain the Pohjola brand. The deal was followed by 
a structural reorganisation to streamline the Group structure and remove        
overlapping functions.                                                          

Names of cooperative banks unchanged                                            

The name changes of OP Bank Group and OKO Bank will not affect the names of     
member cooperative banks in any way. Nor will the products and services of      
retail customers be affected. Non-life insurance will still be sold under the   
Pohjola brand, while bank products are provided by the cooperative banks.       


Schedule for name changes                                                       

The OP Bank Group name change will be effective immediately.                    

OKO Bank's name cannot be changed until approved by OKO Bank's extraordinary    
general meeting which OKO Bank's Board of Directors has summoned to convene on 9
October 2007.  The new name is scheduled to be adopted on 1 March 2008.         

The names of OKO Bank's major subsidiaries will also be changed to conform with 
the Pohjola brand: OKO Asset Management Limited will be changed to Pohjola Asset
Management Ltd, OKO Venture Capital Ltd to Pohjola Capital Partners Ltd and OKO 
Corporate Finance Ltd to Pohjola Corporate Finance Ltd. Moreover, Pohjola       
Non-Life Insurance Company Ltd will be changed to Pohjola Insurance Ltd.        

Press conference today at 2.30 pm.                                              

A press conference will be arranged today on 12 September 2007 at 2.30 pm at the
OP Bank Group Central Cooperative, address Teollisuuskatu 1, Helsinki.          


With over four million customers, OP-Pohjola Group is the leading financial     
services group in Finland. It consists of 231 independent member cooperative    
banks and the Group's central institution, the OP Bank Group Central            
Cooperative, with its subsidiaries and closely-related companies, the largest of
which is the listed company OKO Bank plc. OP-Pohjola Group offers a             
comprehensive range of banking, investment and insurance services to retail     
customers and to businesses and other organisations.                            

OKO Bank plc is a Finnish financial services company that provides banking,     
investment and non-life insurance services. OKO Bank is one of Finland's leading
players both as a commercial bank and non-life insurance company. OKO Bank      
Series A shares have been quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 1989.     
There are some 33,000 shareholders.                                             


Op Bank Group Central Cooperative                                               
OKO Bank plc                                                                    


Markku Koponen                                                                  
Senior Vice President                                                           

DISTRIBUTION                                                                    
OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki                                                    
Principal media                                                                 
www.op.fi                                                                       

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:                                           
Executive Chairman Reijo Karhinen, OP-Pohjola Group, tel. +358 10 252 4500      
Mikael Silvennoinen, President and CEO, OKO Bank plc,                           
tel. +358 10 252 2549