"Mizrahi-Tefahot" bank: Net profit net profit amounted to NIS 845 million in the third quarter

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank today presents record results against the background of the continued economic recovery in the economy. The business results presented by Mizrahi-Tefahot in the first nine months of the year reflect the continued growth in the Bank's current operations, along with the positive contribution that the transaction yields to the acquisition of Union Bank. This, against the background of positive macro data and the decline of the fourth wave of the corona.
In the first nine months of 2021, the Bank recorded record profits of NIS 2.5 billion, compared with a net profit of NIS 1.1 billion in the corresponding period last year and a net profit of NIS 1.6 billion in all of 2020.
In the third quarter of the year, net profit amounted to NIS 845 million, compared with NIS 387 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 118.3%.
Financing income, excluding Union Bank, climbed to NIS 1,559 million in the third quarter of the year, compared with NIS 1,518 million in the corresponding quarter in 2020, an increase of 22.5%. Financing income from operating activities - even without a contribution from Union Bank, reached NIS 1,551 million in the third quarter of this year, compared with NIS 1,375 million in the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of 12.8%.
The removal of restrictions on economic activity has led to the release of subdued demand and the acceleration of private consumption. The increase in the consumer price index in the first nine months of the year by 2.2%, compared with a decrease of 0.6% in the corresponding period last year, had a positive effect on financing income in particular and the Bank's profits in general.
Mizrahi, it should be noted, has a large activity in the mortgage market, thanks to Bank Tefahot, of which it is a part. The note activity in the residential real estate industry in general and the mortgage market in particular, which characterized the first half of the year, continued in the third quarter as well.
Against the background of the reduction in mortgages, following the Bank of Israel's directive on the abolition of the prime limit and the fear of a continued rise in housing prices, particularly large volumes of housing loans were recorded in the third quarter of 2021.
The keen demand, which came from both new customers and lenders who wanted to examine the feasibility of refinancing their existing loan, required the bank's mortgage system to make special preparations in order to provide a solution for all applicants. In the first nine months of the year, Mizrahi-Tefahot's mortgage experts efficiently and professionally made loans to about 50,000 borrowers (new and existing), a sharp increase of about 30%, compared with the corresponding period last year.
In total, in the first nine months of 2021, the Bank made new loans in the amount of NIS 28 billion, compared with NIS 19.5 billion in the corresponding period last year, a jump of 43.8%. In addition, existing loans were recycled, amounting to NIS 5.5 billion, compared with NIS 4 billion in the corresponding period, a jump of 37.5%.
The picture of expansion in the Bank's business emerges from the development that has taken place in the main balance sheet items. The total balance sheet in the first nine months of the year reached NIS 379.6 billion, compared with NIS 360.1 billion at the end of 2020 - an annual growth rate of 7.3%; Credit to the public amounted to NIS 259.7 billion, compared to NIS 245.5 billion at the end of 2020 - a growth rate of 7.8% in annual terms and public deposits in the first nine months of 2021 reached NIS 303.9 billion, compared to NIS 284.2 billion at the end of 2020 - growth rate Annual of 9.3%.
Bank Yahav of the Mizrahi-Tefahot Group continues to demonstrate stability and present adequate financial results. In the first nine months of the year, Bank Yahav recorded a net profit of NIS 148 million, compared with NIS 130 million in the corresponding period last year, and a return on equity of 11.1%, compared with a return on equity of 10.9% in the first nine months of 2020.
Following the Banking Supervisor's announcements from July and September this year, regarding the possibility of distributing dividends for the years 2020 and 2021, the Bank's Board of Directors approved a dividend of NIS 752.7 million - 30% of profits in the first nine months of 2021. This amount is added to a dividend of 483 million The shekel that the bank already distributed last August, which constitutes 30% of the profits in 2020.
Returning to the distribution of dividends is a positive line for the shareholders, and the Bank intends to act again in accordance with its dividend policy, insofar as this is in accordance with the provisions of the law and the directives of the Supervisor of Banks. " 
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