Bank Leumi

Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. is an Israeli commercial bank headquartered in Tel Aviv, and one of the two largest banks in Israel by total assets alongside Bank Hapoalim.^[1] Founded in London in 1902 as the Anglo-Palestine Company, it is the oldest banking corporation still operating in Israel.^[2]

History

The bank was established on 27 February 1902 in London as the Anglo-Palestine Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust, to serve as the financial instrument of the Zionist movement.^[2] It opened its first branch in Jaffa in 1903. In 1950, after the founding of the State of Israel, the bank was renamed Bank Leumi le-Israel ("National Bank of Israel"). When the Bank of Israel was established in 1954, Bank Leumi transferred its central-banking functions to the new institution.^[2]

The bank was nationalised in 1983 following the Israeli bank stock crisis, and was gradually privatised from 1993 onward; the state sold its remaining stake in 2014.^[3]

Operations

Bank Leumi provides retail, corporate and private banking services through a network of branches across Israel and digital channels. Its shares trade on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol LUMI, and it is a constituent of the TA-35 index. As of 2024 its total assets were approximately NIS 700 billion.^[1]

Regulation

As an Israeli banking corporation, Bank Leumi is supervised by the Bank of Israel's Banking Supervision Department, and its capital-market activities are overseen by the Israel Securities Authority.^[4]