In 1963, Pillar Merchant AG was founded by Brown Boveri Corporation (now ABB, Asean Brown Boveri) as EFAG Exportfinanzierungs AG. In 1996, the company obtained a banking license and changed its name to ABB Export Bank AG. In 2003, the bank was sold by ABB to Swedish investors and renamed Nordkap Bank AG.
Since March 2015, the company that in the meantime has given up its banking license, has been held by a German investor and has been operating under the name Pillar Merchant AG.