Bank Mizrahi settles lawsuit and returns 45 million NIS to mortgage customers

2024-02-20 12:32:29

Bank Mizrahi has begun to return an amount of 45 million NIS to the tens of thousands of customers who took out mortgages. The return of the funds is done as part of a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit that was filed regarding the mechanism for calculating interest in the bank’s mortgages for most of the previous decade.

Mizrahi Bank Tefahot branch in Jerusalem (Photo: Dario Sanaches, Flash 90)

According to the agreement, Bank Mizrahi chose to change the base asset according to which the interest is calculated in such a way that the calculation that will be determined will allow the collection of a higher monetary interest. The claim was that the damage to customers was NIS 180 million. As part of the settlement agreement, as mentioned, it was agreed on the return of 45 million NIS. 26 million will be returned to the customers’ bank account directly and another 19 million will be returned in the form of a discount in the collection of the mortgage repayments later.