As notes Economic Pravda, the Baltic company is actively developing and conquering new markets. Now it operates in four countries, but it does not have a banking license in all of them. IUTE specializes in consumer lending, as well as other financial services, in particular insurance. Its main business is microcredit
According to IUTE’s accounts, its total assets at the end of September 2025 amounted to €486.6 million. The vast majority – €336.6 million – were loans issued.
The publication notes that IUTE’s business model is based on raising funds on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (by selling bonds) and then distributing them to consumers. Since the company borrows funds on the stock exchange at a relatively high (by European standards) interest rate – 10-11% per annum – it is profitable for it to issue consumer loans and microloans, the interest rate for which is usually much higher than for business. At the end of September, IUTE’s total debt portfolio amounted to 406.9 million euros.
Based in Estonia, IUTE operates in four European countries – Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, Albania and Moldova. The company operated in the Bosnia and Herzegovina market until 2023, but decided to exit due to the “unfavorable regulatory environment”.
Overall, according to the company’s statements, it serves more than 265,000 active customers in all countries where it operates. Its net profit for the first 9 months of 2025 amounted to 8.5 million euros, for 2024 – 9 million euros.
IUTE is a financial company founded in 2008 in Tallinn by Tarmo Seald and Allar Niinepuu. In the same year, IUTE started to actively enter new markets. In 2015, the company launched in Albania, which now accounts for almost 28% of the group’s assets. According to its accounts, IUTE is the largest non-bank lender in Albania, issuing loans of up to EUR 6,000. In 2017, the company entered the North Macedonia market, which now accounts for 14.5% of assets, and in 2021 it will enter Bulgaria (4% of assets).
IUTE’s largest market is Moldova, where the company holds not only non-banking but also banking licenses, notes Ekonomicheskaya Pravda. In total (bank and financial company) Moldova accounts for 53% of IUTE’s assets.
The Estonian group entered the Moldovan market back in 2008. In February 2022, it acquired a controlling stake (59.7%) in Enegbank, and by the end of September 2025, it had already consolidated more than 95% of the institution’s shares.
The Ukrainian edition draws a parallel between IUTE’s purchases of banking institutions in Moldova and Ukraine. Before its sale, Energbank was problematic in Moldova. The National Bank blocked 52.77% of the institution’s shares, which were owned by residents of Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Cyprus because of a probable connection with a Moldovan millionaire with business in Transnistria. In addition, the National Bank of Moldova introduced external management in Energbank.
RwS Bank (which was renamed IUTE Bank), acquired in Ukraine, will become the second bank within the Estonian group. As in the case of Moldova, the Estonians also bought a troubled institution in Ukraine, primarily in order to obtain a banking license.
