Banking industry in Israel - statistics and facts
As of early 2025, the banking industry in Israel claimed six of the top-ten listed companies, by earnings, on the Tel Aviv stock exchange. In fact, Bank Leumi of Israel emerged as the most profitable publicly traded company in the country. Its main competitor, Bank Hapoalim, followed with 12-month earnings of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. The two also lead the sector in terms of the size of their credit portfolios, overseeing assets exceeding 400 billion Israeli shekels in 2024, roughly 110 billion U.S. dollars. However, when assessing shareholder return on equity (ROE), neither bank took the crown. The First International Bank outperformed the two in 2024, with a 19 percent ROE, followed by Mizrahi Tefahot Bank. The recent high-interest environment has bolstered bank revenues from interest, a benefit that has not trickled down to household savers.
