Bank Hapoalim (Hebrew ：בנק הפועלים Literally Workers Bank) Is One Of The Largest Banks In Israel, Founded In 1921. The Bank Offers A Wide Range Of Financial Services To Retail, Corporate And Institutional Clients, With A Focus On Retail Banking Services. It Operates A Network Of More Than 250 Branches And Offices In Israel And Abroad. Bank Hapoalim Is A Well-known Business In The Israeli Banking Industry, With A Significant Market Share.
The Company Is Traded On The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Under The Symbol POLI And Is Part Of The Tel Aviv 35 Index.
HISTORY
The Bank Was Founded In 1921 By Histadrut, The Congress Of Trade Unions Of Israel (literally "General Confederation Of Labor In The Land Of Israel"), And The Zionist Organization.
The Bank Was Owned By Histadrut Until It Was Nationalized In 1983 Following The Bank's Stock Crisis. The Bank Was Held By The Israeli Government Until 1996 When It Was Sold To A Group Of Investors Led By Ted Arison.
The Bank Holds A Significant Position On The Global Financial Marekt. In Israel, It Owns More Than 600 ATMs (Automated Teller Machines), 250 Bank Branches, 7 Regional Business Centers, 22 Business Branches And Industry Service Desks For Major Corporate Clients. The Bank's Shares Are Traded On The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
At The End Of 2015, The Bank Had 11,930 Employees Worldwide. It Is Controlled By Arison Holdings, Which Is Owned By Shari Arison. Arison Holdings Owns A Total Of 15.74% Of The Bank.
In 2021, The Bank Reported A Net Profit Of 915 Million Shekels ($267 Million) For The Fourth Quarter Of 2020, Compared To A Net Loss Of 629 Million Shekels For The Fourth Quarter Of 2019. The Bank's Growing Credit Portfolio Has Moved Into Digital Wallets And Struck Deals With Banks In Bahrain And The UAE.
In 2023, The Bank Reported A Record Net Profit Of 6.50 Billion Shekels ($1.82 Billion) In 2022, Driven By Rising Interest Rates And Rising Inflation, Up 33% From The Previous Year.
Global Reach
The Bank Operates Several International Subsidiaries: In The City Of London And Poalim Asset Management (UK) Limited; In The United States (New York City, California And Miami) And Canada; BHI Private Bank, Swiss Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., Zurich, Geneva, Luxembourg, South America And The Cayman Islands.
Plan 2018-2022
Bank Hapoalim Has Reached An Agreement To Cancel A Labour Dispute Initiated By The Histadrut Labour Federation In December. According To The Bank's Regulatory Filing In Tel Aviv, The January 2020 Deal Proposes To Raise Workers' Wages By An Average Of 3.7 Percent From 2018 To 2022, And Bank Employees Will Also Receive A One-time Grant Of 210 Million Shekels ($60.60 Million), While The Bank Also Plans To Reduce More Than 900 Jobs Through An Early Retirement Program.
Tax Evasion And Money Laundering
On April 30, 2020, The Bank Was Found To Have Been Complicit In Tax Evasion And Money Laundering Related To FIFA And The Bid To Host The World Cup. It Was Ordered To Pay A $874.30 Million Fine After Pleading Guilty To The First Charge, Which Involved Helping U.S. Taxpayers Deposit About $7.60 Billion In More Than 5,500 Secret Swiss And Israeli Bank Accounts. It Is The Second-largest Recovery By The Department Of Justice Since It Began Investigating Foreign Banks For Facilitating U.S. Tax Evasion In 2008.
It Was Ordered To Pay A $30 Million Forfeiture And Fine Related To The Second Charge, Which Involved Helping To Launder More Than $20 Million In Bribes And Kickbacks For Officials Involved In A 2015 Corruption Scandal Involving Soccer's World Governing Body, FIFA. IRS Chief Of Criminal Investigations Don Fort Said: "The Foreign Financial Institutions Group Has No Excuse For Flouting The Responsibility Of Wealthy Americans To Pay Their Taxes. With Today's Guilty Plea, Hapoalim Bank Is Being Held Accountable For Their Role In Willfully Breaking The Law And Undermining The Integrity Of This Nation's Tax System. Brian Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General, Said That "for Nearly Five Years, Employees Of Hapoalim Bank Used The U.S. Financial System To Launder Tens Of Millions Of Dollars In Bribes To Corrupt Soccer Officials In Multiple Countries," While William Sweeney, Assistant Director Of The FBI's New York Field Office, Said, "Hapoalim Bank Acknowledges That Executives Turned A Blind Eye. And Allowed The Illegal Activity To Continue Even After Employees Discovered The Scheme And Reported It."
Involvement In Israeli Settlements
In January 2014, Danske Bank And Dutch Pension Fund PGGM Blacklisted Hapoalim Bank For Its Involvement In The Financing Of Settlements In The Palestinian Territories.
In October 2017, Danish Pension Company Sampension Banned Investments In Hapoalim And Three Other Companies Operating In Illegal Israeli Settlements In The West Bank, Including Bank Leumi, Israeli Telecommunications Company Bezeq, And German Company Heidelberg Cement.
On February 12, 2020, The United Nations Released A Database Of 112 Companies That Help Advance Israeli Settlement Activities In The West Bank, Including East Jerusalem, As Well As In The Occupied Golan Heights. These Settlements Are Considered Illegal Under International Law. Bank Hapoalim Is Included In The Database Because It "provides Services And Utilities That Support The Maintenance And Presence Of Settlements" And "banking And Financial Operations That Assist In The Development, Expansion Or Maintenance Of Settlements And Their Activities In These Occupied Territories." On July 5, 2021, Norway's Largest Pension Fund, KLP, Said It Would Divest From 15 Other Business Entities Covered In The U.N. Report Because Of Their Ties To Israeli Settlements In The Occupied West Bank.
