Eldad Fresher, CEO of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, who announced his intention to terminate his term

In less than a year, the four CEOs of the largest banks are retiring or announcing their retirement from the banks. The current entrant is Eldad Fresher, CEO of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, who announced "his intention to terminate his term in the coming months after seven years in office" The Bank's financials for 2019. The Bank stated that "the date of Fresher's term of office has not yet been determined."
The bank said at a meeting of the board of directors that Fresher said that "the bank's exceptional performance in recent years, we have succeeded in meeting the strategic plan's goals two years earlier than planned and approving the transaction to acquire and merge Bank Agud into the Mizrahi Tefahot group. "In my view, this is the best time to transfer the lead position to another CEO, who will be a partner in formulating the new strategic plan that will be discussed and approved by the Board of Directors during the third quarter of this year, and will implement it."
Fresher (56) was elected CEO of the bank in mid-June 2013, and he took office in mid-August of that year. management board. Who brought him in was former CEO Eli Younes, who was an accountant, and Shasperer replaced him as CEO about seven years ago. Throughout his years at Fresher Bank, he received salaries and benefits at an estimated cost of about NIS 50 million, about 33 million. NIS (about two-thirds) of the rewards were credited to his seven years as CEO.
In this, Fresher joins three colleagues, who retired last year from parallel positions. In just a period of two and a half months in the second quarter of last year, the CEOs of workers, Leumi and Discount announced their intention to retire from the bank. Retiring from Discount on June 5, when Rakefet Rusk Aminach at Leumi also joined the list at the end of that month, the three were officially replaced during the fourth quarter of 2019.
The previous three retirements at the top of the big banks happened in the shadow of the effects of the law on the limitation of senior salaries in the financial sector. Although Fresher, Rusk Aminoach, and Topofsky, who moved to Pimi, left or announced retirement at the end of a "full" term, their departure is seen to be related to the salary limit, which sharply cut the benefits they are entitled to. Pinto, recalls, retired after a relatively short term.
With Fresher's retirement, which is likely to happen during the second half of the year, the CEO of the International Bank, Smadar Barber Tzadik, will remain the only longtime CEO of the big banks. Barber Righteous has been running the international for about 13 years.
Parashar led Mizrahi Tefahot to continue considerable growth and to occupy and consolidate the bank's status as the third largest in Israel. One of the big things that led Fresher to the bank in recent years was the agreement with the US authorities to close the bank's part in the tax evasion assistance by its American clients. There have been rumors in the market recently that Americans wanted Fresher's "head" when those rumors were firmly denied. The agreement with the U.S. tax authorities was signed almost a year ago, after a $ 195 million fine was paid, after Fresher refused a preliminary offer by the Americans to close the much higher fine payment provision.
However, after the close of the affair with the Americans, Bank Supervisor Bank instructed Dr. Hedva Bar to set up an independent committee for independent and local review of the US settlement. The Independent Committee's recommendations were due to be published in 2019, but they have not yet been made public.
During his years as CEO of the Bank, Fresher led a strategic marketing strategy for personal service branding, in contrast to competitors who emphasized the transition to digital and online service, while aggressively growing credit.
Who will coordinate the search process for Mizrahi Tefahot's next CEO is Chairman Moshe Weidman. Fresher leaves at least one major task for those who will replace it - the bank is currently in the process of taking over a union bank - a deal that, when completed, will force the bank to invest considerable resources and administrative attention to optimize the process.