# Bank Hapoalim Private Banking: wealth at Israel's founding bank > BoI segment definition: assets above NIS 3m; US$874m US settlement (2020); no deposit insurance in Israel; New York branch FDIC-insured. Author: Alena Peteneva — Lawyer, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/en/authors/dunaeva) Last modified: 2026-10-20T10:41:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/bank-hapoalim-private Publisher: wiki.private.law (https://wiki.private.law) Version: 0720873c597371630e361a0db1af3586585bde3637fa817563f4e86fa868ff2a Cite as: Bank Hapoalim Private Banking: wealth at Israel's founding bank. wiki.private.law. https://wiki.private.law/en/bank-hapoalim-private. Version 0720873c597371630e361a0db1af3586585bde3637fa817563f4e86fa868ff2a. Topics: banking Jurisdictions: israel, usa Functional tags: private-banking Product tags: bank, wealth-planning, investment, trust, estate-planning Semantic tags: private-banking, bank, wealth-planning, investment, trust, estate-planning --- ## Concept Bank Hapoalim's private banking is a segment within the Retail Banking Division of Bank Hapoalim B.M. (TASE: POLI), serving affluent individuals onshore in Israel. No separately named head of private banking is disclosed; the division is led by Pazit Garfinkel, Senior Deputy CEO (appointed late September 2024). Service is delivered through ~160 branches, dedicated Platinum Banking Centres for selected customers, 14 "Poalim Invest" advisory centres, and a digital premium "Pro" centre. ## History and evolution - **1921** — founded by the Zionist Histadrut labour federation; opened on 1 April 1921 as the "workers' bank". - **1970s** — the largest Israeli bank. - **1983** — nationalised in the bank-shares crisis. - **1997** — privatisation: the controlling core was sold to the Arison–Dankner group. - **2016** — launch of the Bit payments app (~3.3 million users today). - **2017–2018** — global private banking dismantled: the Miami book (~US$2bn in client assets) was sold to Safra National Bank of New York (~US$63.8m); Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) client assets were sold to Bank J. Safra / Banque J. Safra Sarasin (Swiss leg completed 18 November 2018, Luxembourg weeks later); Uruguay closed on 31 December 2017. - **2018** — Arison Investments divested; no controlling shareholder since. - **2020** — US settlements totalling ~US$874m. - **2023** — Swiss licence returned (July); Bank Pozitif (Turkey) sale completed (September). - **2024** — Yadin Antebi became Group CEO (15 August 2024). - **2025** — Noam Hanegbi became Chairman (18 February 2025); shareholders voted on 31 March 2025 to liquidate the Swiss shell. > 🍓 Israel has no deposit-insurance scheme as of 2026: the Bank of Israel (2023 paper) describes only an implicit government guarantee. Deposits at the New York branch carry FDIC insurance (per the bank). ## Regulation The bank is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and supervised by the Bank of Israel. On 30 April 2020 the US tax case was resolved for a total of ~US$874m: a deferred prosecution agreement for Bank Hapoalim B.M. (US$214.4m), a guilty plea by Hapoalim Switzerland (US$402.5m), a NYDFS consent order (US$220m) and a Federal Reserve cease-and-desist order (US$37.35m). Between 2002 and 2014 the bank helped US taxpayers hide over US$7.6bn in 5,500+ Swiss and Israeli accounts — the second-largest DOJ offshore-tax recovery since 2008. In 2025 the bank recovered ~NIS 432m from insurers and officers via a derivative-claim settlement related to this case. Also on 30 April 2020, the FIFA matter brought forfeiture and penalties of ~US$30m (bribes laundered in 2010–2015). Bank of Israel sanctions: a NIS 7.5m AML fine (December 2010, Yarkon international-PB branch) and NIS 1m (February 2024). The Israel Competition Authority imposed a NIS 40m consent-decree fine (April 2025, jointly with Discount Bank), approved by the tribunal in January 2026. ## Source of wealth The core clientele is tech entrepreneurs and executives, business owners, professionals, real-estate investors and multi-generational families; foreign residents are served within the retail division. [Source of funds](https://wiki.private.law/source-of-funds) checks follow Israeli AML requirements. > 💡 The bank publishes no minimum on its site. The Bank of Israel supervisory definition assigns to the Private Banking Segment individuals whose portfolio of financial assets at the bank exceeds NIS 3 million (~US$0.94m). Press reports from 2008 described a US$1m+ liquid-wealth bar — dated, reported, unverified. ## Who it serves Affluent Israeli residents and foreign clients who need a full range of banking and investment services in shekels and foreign currency within the Israeli jurisdiction. ## Services Full banking (accounts, deposits, consumer and mortgage credit, including securities-backed lending), capital-market brokerage and custody, FX and derivatives dealing-room access, and investment advisory through the bank's own licensed advisers; trust and estate services via Poalim Trust Services Ltd, a wholly owned trust company. Note: in Israel discretionary portfolio management is a separate licence, so banks advise but do not themselves manage client portfolios. ## Entities | Jurisdiction | Legal entity | Form and supervision | Role | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Israel | Bank Hapoalim B.M. (TASE: POLI) | Banking licence, Bank of Israel supervision | Main private-banking platform | | USA | New York branch of Bank Hapoalim B.M. | New York state-licensed, FDIC-insured; commercial (C&I) banking | No private-banking services | | Switzerland | Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd | Licence returned July 2023; liquidation approved 31 March 2025 | Wound down | | Luxembourg | Hapoalim (Luxembourg) S.A. | Dormant entity (run-off) | Inactive | ## Strengths Israel's second-largest bank (total assets NIS 766.7bn at 31 December 2025, behind Bank Leumi at NIS 873bn). Record FY2025 group net profit of NIS 9,802m (+28%, ROE 15.9%). Private Banking segment FY2025: total income NIS 624m, net profit NIS 257m; no standalone PB AUM is published. A wholly owned trust company and a full onshore platform. ## Where it falls short No international private banking — service is Israel-onshore only, and the New York branch is commercial banking, not private banking. No deposit insurance in Israel. Advisory-only model without discretionary management by the bank itself. The 2026–27 targets (net profit NIS 9–10bn, ROE 14–15%) were trimmed after the special bank-tax law of 30 March 2026. In November 2025 the bank distributed free "gift shares" to ~394,000 customers under a Bank of Israel relief framework; an efficiency plan (770 positions by 2028) is being implemented amid an ongoing union dispute (2026). ## Q/A ### What is the minimum threshold for Bank Hapoalim Private Banking? The bank publishes no official minimum. Under the Bank of Israel supervisory definition, the segment covers individuals whose portfolio of financial assets at the bank exceeds NIS 3 million (~US$0.94m). ### Are deposits at Bank Hapoalim insured? Israel has no deposit-insurance scheme as of 2026; the Bank of Israel describes only an implicit government guarantee. Deposits at the New York branch carry FDIC insurance. ### Does the bank offer private banking outside Israel? No. Global private banking was dismantled in 2017–2018 (assets sold to Safra entities); today's international footprint is the commercial New York branch plus representative offices. Private banking is available in Israel only. ### Does the bank manage client portfolios? No. In Israel discretionary portfolio management is a separate licence; the bank provides investment advice through its own licensed advisers but does not itself manage client portfolios. ### How was the US tax case resolved? On 30 April 2020, for a total of ~US$874m: a deferred prosecution agreement (US$214.4m), a guilty plea by the Swiss subsidiary (US$402.5m), a NYDFS consent order (US$220m) and a Federal Reserve order (US$37.35m). --- ## Similar articles - [British Atlantic Bank (NodaBank): Accounts, Deposits and Lending](https://wiki.private.law/en/nodabank) - [Leumi Private Banking: wealth segment of Israel's largest bank](https://wiki.private.law/en/bank-leumi-private) - [Citi Private Bank: the global private bank with ten booking centres](https://wiki.private.law/en/citi-private-bank) - [Bradesco Global Private Bank: Brazil's number two private bank](https://wiki.private.law/en/bradesco-private) - [BNP Paribas Wealth Management: the Eurozone's private bank from Paris to Singapore](https://wiki.private.law/en/bnp-paribas-wealth-management) - [Itaú Private Bank: Latin America's first R$1 trillion franchise](https://wiki.private.law/en/itau-private-bank) --- Source: wiki.private.law — the private.law legal knowledge base. 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