Bank Leumi's profit for 2019 grew by 8% to NIS 3.52 billion

Bank Leumi On Wednesday released its 2019 financial statements, showing that Bank Leumi's profit grew 8% to NIS 3.52 billion, reflecting a return on equity of 9.8%.
At the same time as the reports were published, Leumi announced that it will launch a NIS 700 million share buy-back program, similar to the volume of equity shares purchased last year.
Leumi's credit portfolio grew moderately by 3.6% to NIS 282.5 billion, but when looking at the portfolio according to various areas of activity, the various trends reflecting the conservative taste of the previous CEO, Rakefet Rusk-Aminach, stand out. Reduce exposure to consumer credit and small business credit.
Last year, the small business credit portfolio shrank by 5% to NIS 25.1 billion, and consumer credit fell by 1.5% to NIS 29.1 billion. These are areas that the Bank considers to be relatively high risk. Indeed, the level of risk is reflected in provisions for credit losses: Despite the decline in the credit portfolio for small businesses, the volume of provisions for credit losses jumped 20% to NIS 329 million, and consumer credit increased by 8% to NIS 231 million.
Overall, the provisions for National Bank credit losses in 2019 amounted to NIS 609 million - a 50% jump compared to the provisions in 2018. The increase in provisions is not due to an increase in the volume of problem banks of the Bank, but to a significant decrease in Rickberry.
The report also includes senior bank salaries. At the top of the list is Avner Mendelson, CEO of Leumi USA, which is not subject to the salaries limit, with a salary of NIS 7.1 million. Former bank chairman David Brodet's salary was NIS 3.3 million. Former CEO Rakefet Rusk-Aminoch and Hanan Friedman, the new CEO received a salary of NIS 3.3 million and NIS 3.2 million, respectively.