Profit Share

1. A Profit Share is an equity contribution to your OP cooperative bank as referred to in the Co-operatives Act. It strengthens the bank’s capital adequacy and gives you the chance to benefit from its success. 
2. Each year, we seek the best, most competitive interest rate possible for Profit Shares. The Representative Assembly or Annual Cooperative Meeting decides afterwards on the interest payable for each calendar year.
3. The minimum investment is 100 euros and the maximum is set by each OP cooperative bank. 
4. When investing in Profit Shares, you should be prepared for an investment period of at least three years. 
5. A Profit Share is not a deposit and is not protected by the deposit guarantee. 

How can I invest in Profit Shares?

1. As an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you can invest in your bank’s Profit Shares during their subscription period. It is a period during which you can buy Profit Shares.
2. Please note that each bank has its own subscription periods. See your bank’s website to check its Profit Share issue dates. 
3. Subscribe by visiting your OP cooperative bank branch, booking an appointment or calling OP Customer Service at 0100 0500 (Mon–Fri 8–16, local/mobile network rate). 
4. Each OP cooperative bank independently decides whether corporate and institutional customers can become owner-customers and invest in Profit Shares. 

What should you remember when investing in Profit Shares?

1. If the profit distribution criteria are fulfilled, interest on the previous year's Profit Shares is paid on the first banking day of the June of the following year. The aim is to pay interest on Profit Shares in line with the return target but it cannot be guaranteed. The return target cannot be used for making reliable assumptions about future returns.
2. Interest payment and its amount always depend on the bank's financial performance. The Representative Assembly or Annual Cooperative Meeting decides annually afterwards on the interest payable.
3. Interest on Profit Shares is paid out of the distributable surplus under the Co-operatives Act. A cooperative bank does not necessarily generate a surplus every year. It is also possible that the distributable surplus remaining with the cooperative bank is larger than the amount of interest payable on Profit Shares.
4. Taxation of Profit Shares is lighter than for many other investments. The interest is considered capital income for personal taxation purposes. Taxation is based on each customer’s circumstances and can change. The return target does not take into account tax or other costs.
5. For information on taxation of corporations and institutions, see vero.fi.
6. You can dispose of your Profit Shares by terminating them. The repayment period is 12 months from the end of the termination year. If you terminate your Profit Shares on 1 January 2023, their value will be refunded to your account on the first weekday of January in 2025.
7. Profit Shares are not capital-protected products and their repayment is subject to certain conditions. You can even lose the capital you have invested, either in part or in full. The aggregate capital of Profit Shares can be used to cover the losses of the bank or OP Financial Group’s central cooperative and its member banks. The bank also has the right, under its bylaws, to refuse refunding the shares.
8. If Profit Shares cannot be refunded in their entirety, an OP cooperative bank has the right, under its bylaws, to make a refund afterwards during the next five financial years, after which the right to make such a refund afterwards expires.

9. Profit Shares cannot be freely transferred. They can only be transferred to another owner-customer of the OP cooperative bank in question. Profit Shares are not quoted on a secondary market.

10. Profit Shares do not bring OP bonuses.