The big banks close 2021 with exceptional profitability: Bank Leumi earned NIS 6 billion, compared with NIS 2.1 billion in 2020. The profit is a 15% return on capital, which amounted to NIS 41.6 billion. The bank under the management of Hanan Friedman distributed a dividend of NIS 588 million, so that in the past year the cumulative dividend distributed amounts to NIS 2.6 billion. Profit in the fourth quarter of the year amounted to NIS 1.5 billion, compared with NIS 900 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Non-interest financing income amounted to NIS 1.7 billion thanks to profits from the sale of shares in Retailers and Iron-Source. In the United States, a transaction was signed to merge the Bank’s operations in the United States with Bank Wallie National. Friedman noted: “The implementation of our strategy, along with the digital tools and advanced models we have implemented in the bank, are reflected in the performance over the past year. The impressive growth has been achieved mainly due to the adaptation of our service model to customer tastes.” Discount Bank ended 2021 with a profit of NIS 2.77 billion, compared with NIS 975 million in 2020. The profit is a return of 13.6% on capital, which stands at NIS 22.1 billion.
The fourth quarter ended with the doubling of profit to NIS 529 million. The bank’s CEO Uri Levin first revealed ambitious financial targets for 2025: a profit of NIS 3.5 billion, a return on equity of 12.5% and an efficiency ratio of 55%. Levin said: “The record results reflect the proven ability of the group and its employees to lead extraordinary changes Banking while focusing on the customer and creating real competition. “