Bank Hapoalim B.M.

Bank Hapoalim, founded in 1921, is Israel’s largest and leading financial institute. in over more than a century of operations, the Bank has developed a network of branches to manage its customer relations, provide services and counsel in complex transactions and decision junctions. In addition, the Bank has developed advanced digital capabilities and it provides tailored, accessible, and professional banking services. The Bank Hapoalim Group is one of the largest employers in the Israeli economy, with about 8,800 employees.
The bank’s financial resilience and its leading position in the Israeli banking system are reflected in its financial statements. In March 2023, the Bank disclosed its 2022 results, with reported net profit of NIS 6,532 million in 2022, compared to NIS 4,914 million in 2021. The rate of net return on shareholders’ equity in 2022 was 14.8%. The bank’s shareholders’ equity amounted to NIS 46.5 billion at the end of 2022.
The bank is ranked by leading global ranking companies as follows: Moody’s at (A2); Standard & Poor’s at (A), and Fitch Ratings at (A). In Israel, the Bank is also rated in Israeli by S&P Ma’alot at (AAA), and by Midroog (a subsidiary of Moody’s) at (Aaa).
The Bank is active in Israel in every banking field and capital-markets-related activity, through three main divisions - the Business Division, the Retail Division and the Financial Markets and International Banking Division.
The Business Division serves most of the Bank’s business customers. In the Corporate segment, the Division operates through specialized industry-specific sectors. In the Middle Market segment, the Division operates through business centers across Israel, and through its branches, which provide operational services to the division’s customers.
The Retail Division serves a variety of household, private banking, small businesses and foreign customers, through more than 160 branches, 14 investment advisory centers - Poalim INVEST, and 2 mobile branches that provide service at dozens of service points (about 60% of which are at old age/assisted living homes and senior citizen centers), (as of May 2023), alongside many direct channels: self-service banking machines in branches and “customer premises” with a broad distribution, “Poalim on the Internet”, “Poalim for Mobile Devices”, the “Poalim Call Center”, “Poalim PRO” – digital banking services for digitally-oriented customers, interactive voice response systems for information and transactions, and queries through social media apps. In addition, the Bank has expanded digital banker meeting scheduling services, and added additional meeting scheduling channels, allowing the customer to schedule professional and productive personal meetings. The bank has also expanded its coverage of attendants in bank branches, so that each branch has at least one attendant to provide digital support and empowerment for the customers.
As part of the Bank’s worldview of service and social responsibility, it considers accessibility for people with disabilities to be a material and business-mandated issue. In this framework, all of the Bank’s services accommodate people with disabilities and accessibility is taken into account when developing new products and processes, and tailoring unique solutions for the Bank’s customers.
The Financial Markets and International Banking Division coordinates the banking group’s operations in most capital markets segments in Israel and abroad. These operations include, inter alia, securities trading transactions (brokerage) services, securities custodianship, currency and derivatives trading services, research and advisory, services to financial asset managers, portfolio management, investment banking, underwriting and security issuance management.

The Banking Group’s Foreign Operations

The banking group’s international operations include its New-York branch and the representative offices Hapoalim Switzerland, Bank Pozitif Turkey, and existing banking relations with banks across the globe.
Most of the Bank’s international business operations are conducted through its New-York branch, which focuses on providing comprehensive banking service both to Israeli companies with operations in the U.S. and to local companies and customers, including: Credit, foreign trade, deposits and trading room services. The New-York branch also offers FDIC deposit insurance to its customers. In addition, the branch extends credit through loan syndication.

Professionals Who Work for You

The Bank serves the largest number of customers in the Israeli banking system, with more than 2 million customers. The broad range of customers requires customization and diversification of the products and services that the Bank offers to the public, and drives the Bank’s commitment to personal, human, and technological service.

Business Strategy

The board of management and the board of directors of the bank have approved a multi-annual strategic plan for 2023-2026 aimed at reinforcing the position of Bank Hapoalim as a leading bank in Israel. The principles of the plan support continued responsible growth, preservation of the bank’s leadership, and a leap forward in customer service. The plan focuses on performance, value for customers, optimal utilization of infrastructures and resources, and development of differentiating and influential innovation.
The plan builds on the successful implementation of the bank’s growth strategy for its core activity in 2021-2022, reflected in material improvement in its business results and significant business momentum. The Poalim 2026 plan is built upon three pillars:
a. Strengthening the leadership of Bank Hapoalim in core banking
The strategic plan sets the goal of leveraging and strengthening the leadership of Bank Hapoalim, as a universal bank in Israel, in core banking products for retail customers (focusing on the sub-segments of private banking and small businesses) and business customers (focusing on infrastructure, syndications, real estate and Hi-tech) and in the capital market.
b. Optimizing the use of resources and enhancing productivity
Optimizing the use of resources and enhancing productivity concerns a number of content areas, including financial resources, technologies, and human capital, as well as streamlining of business and operational processes.
As an additional growth driver, the bank is accelerating the implementation of agile methodologies and the operation of human resources based on the “tribes” model. This process, in which the bank is a leader in the business arena, will lead to the close integration of technological and business functions at the bank, to improve and shorten time to market and delivery, as a competitive advantage, allowing rapid launch of products, diversified services, and development of innovative value offers for the bank’s customers, on a par with leading global banks.
c. Differentiating and influential innovation
The innovation element is aimed at creating differentiation by promoting solutions in the areas of service, operations, and products, by means including investment in technologies and collaboration with third-party companies, as a way of supporting the attainment of the objectives of the strategic plan.

The Bit application, a leading payment app that currently has approximately 3 million users who are customers of all banks, will serve as the basis for development of new banking products. The bank will continue to expand the activities of Bit in the area of payments and concurrently work to present unique innovative value offers.

Giving Back to the Community

As part of its community activities, the bank focuses on hundreds of projects aimed at strengthening employment, financial literacy, education, and economic resilience for hundreds of thousands of people, children, and youth from all over the country. In addition to creating partnerships and supporting associations and social organizations, this commitment is reflected in social involvement, financial donations and “money-for-money” donations, financing and conducting workshops by the Center for Financial Growth, and extensive volunteer involvement among bank employees. According to a survey conducted by C.I in January 2023, the bank was chosen as the top business organization in Israel for social action and community contribution. Approximately NIS 38 million was invested by the bank in the community in 2022, transforming reality for broad segments of Israeli society.

ESG Activity

As a leading financial organization renowned for its influence, the bank is committed to dealing with the climate crisis. In the past year, the bank significantly increased the scope of financing and investments in projects that promote a green environment while achieving the target set for 2030. The bank aims to continue to create a significant impact on the environment in the years to come by increasing its investments and financing of green projects.
Every year, the bank’s activities and influence in the fields of the environment, society, and corporate governance are acknowledged in local and international ESG indices, placing it on par with leading banks worldwide. As a result of the bank’s extensive activity in the field, the bank’s rankings in the field increased in 2022.
Bank Hapoalim is at the top of the local ESG ratings:
• ‘Ma’ale’ rating - in the evaluation for 2022, the bank led, for the fifth year in a row, the ‘Ma’ale ESG Index’ among all companies in the Israeli economy, ranking as ‘Platinum Plus’ and AAA in the ESG index.
• Entropy Rating - the bank leads the ESG entropy rating among all the companies in the economy and is at the top of the traded Index 100 ESG Entropy index.