The bank was issued a credit institution licence on Wednesday, and is a successor company to lease provider Liisi, the company said in a press release.

On Thursday, Liisi founder Arne Veske said that: ''We've been operating in Haapsalu for 23 years and we have served all of Estonia from that base."

Liisi's parent company is Koduliising AS; Mr Veske remains as registered owner of Holm Bank.

"Our 1,100 partners have more than 2,000 points of sale and we've been very happy to work with them and we are excited that we can now offer an even wider variety of services. We would also like to thank all of our 350,000 clients, who now have many new things to look forward to,'' Mr Veske continued.

Holm Bank is the first financial institution in Estonia to have a licence issued by the European Central Bank, the bank says. Being able to accept deposits will help the company to grow further. The high level of technology in the Estonian banking sector provides a foundation for it to expand to other European states.

"Holm Bank, formerly Koduliising, is a family business. It was led by Arne Veske for a long time, and from 2012 my sister Kelly Veske has been responsible for development. Being a family business lets us take a calmer, long-term strategic approach,'' said Holm Bank board chair Kaido Veske, of the development.

Indrek Julge is to be responsible for running the bank.

"The bank will continue to offer all the popular services that were previously offered under the Liisi brand. These are predominantly leases, micro-credit and credit cards. Alongside these we will introduce deposits and a range of services for small businesses," Mr Julge, who has 20 years' experience in the sector, said.