Bank Leumi announced today (Wednesday) the establishment of a new division that will focus on mortgages, in light of the growth in the field. The Bank has updated that the focus of the mortgage activity will henceforth be made within a dedicated and independent division headed by Uri Younisi, who currently serves as head of the customer relations division within the banking division. In his new position, Unisi will be directly subordinate to the bank’s CEO, Hanan Friedman.
Leumi, like all banks, has benefited greatly from the boom in the mortgage market this year, and has increased its mortgage portfolio by 13% since the beginning of the year. As of the end of the third quarter, the portfolio stands at NIS 99.97 billion, compared with NIS 88 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. Leumi’s net profit from the mortgage sector amounted to NIS 460 million in the first nine months of the year and NIS 176 million in the third quarter alone.
The tide in the field is easily explained by data published by the state. In the first 11 months of the year, about NIS 104 billion was taken out in mortgages, compared with the peak year, which was last year, in which NIS 78 billion was taken out in mortgages. In the first ten months of the year, 120.4 thousand transactions were executed. In all of 2015, which was the peak year to date, about 119.5 thousand transactions were executed.
Separating the mortgage sector into an independent division causes a change in the banking division as well. From now on, the entire issue of contact and customer service will be concentrated with the head of the Banking Division, Shmulik Arbel, in order to strengthen customer contact, from the national banking center through the personal banking centers to the level of branch managers and clerks. This is in order to focus on the needs of customers in all business lines: households, small businesses, etc.
Leumi CEO Hanan Friedman said on the occasion of the structural change that “this is a leap forward in the field of mortgages, which is a significant growth engine for the bank. We are in an unprecedented momentum. “
The head of the newly established mortgage division, Uri Unisi, added: “The high competitiveness and the variety of challenges in the market require us to constantly produce significant differentiation.”
The head of the banking division, Shmulik Arbel: “Separating the mortgage sector into an independent division will allow the banking division to accelerate business growth in private customers and small businesses.”