Banking & Finance Israel’s Bank Hapoalim profit surges to $515m By Reuters August 14, 2023 Reuters/Corinna Kern Hapoalim net interest income rose 35 percent to 4.3 billion shekels Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s largest lender, reported a 43 percent rise in quarterly profit, boosted by a jump in financing income amid high inflation and interest rates that more than offset a spike in provisions against loan defaults. Hapoalim, the country’s largest bank by credit to the public, said it earned 1.92 billion shekels ($515 million) in the second quarter, up from 1.34 billion a year earlier. That resulted in a return on equity of 15.8 percent. Net interest income rose 35 percent to 4.3 billion shekels as it recorded a provision for credit losses of 579 million shekels, up from the 91 million provision in the April-June period in 2022. Israel warns high-interest rate may impact growth Israeli bank CEOs warn of fallout from judicial changes Hapoalim, whose credit portfolio rose 7.6 percent over the past year, said it would pay a second-quarter dividend of 769 million shekels, a payout of 40 percent of quarterly net income.
