Almost four years after being named CEO of Israel Discount Bank, Uri Levin is leaving. Levin informed the bank’s board of directors of his decision this morning. He will become CEO of Tidhar, a private real estate group. Discount Bank said Levine would continue in the role even after a replacement selection and a handover period.
It is believed that one of the reasons for Levine’s decision was the legal restrictions on pay he was subject to as CEO of the bank. The law sets a cap of NIS 2.5 million annually, or NIS 3.5 million with bonuses, beyond which the CEO’s pay is not recognized for tax purposes. In his new job, Levin will not be subject to such restrictions.
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It is believed that at Tidhar, Levin will receive significant equity-based compensation potentially up to 3% of the company. Tidhar is likely to be publicly traded over the next few years.
Levin was appointed CEO of Israel Discount Bank in July 2019 after holding a number of senior management positions in the banking group. In 2022, the bank made a net profit of NIS 3.5 billion, double the profit in 2019. In recent months, he and other bank CEOs have warned about the effects of the government’s judicial reform on the Israeli economy, and expressed their concerns in a meeting of business leaders with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Between 2019 and 2022, the credit portfolio of the discount bank grew by 33%, while its quality, which was considered problematic, improved. The bank’s mortgage portfolio grew by 76% in that period, in part due to general market growth, but also as a result of the bank’s competitive terms. In recent months, with the Bank of Israel’s interest rate rising, Discount Bank has made some market-leading moves, such as canceling interest on overdrafts up to 2,000 shekels, and sharply raising the interest rate paid on deposits.
“The last decade of my entire professional life has been devoted to the incredible journey that the Discount Group has gone through to become a powerful independent body challenging this financial system in Israel,” said Levine. “We’ve built growth engines, streamlined the suite, and delivered results that are unprecedented compared to where we were just a decade ago.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 16, 2023.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.
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