Bank "Hapoalim" will pay clients 6.7 million shekels: who is entitled

Bank Hapoalim has agreed to pay 6.7 million shekels under a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit concerned the reduction of interest on deposits after partial withdrawals. Compensation will be given to clients who partially withdrew funds from deposits with daily accrual or floating rate between November 2017 and November 2022.

Bank Hapoalim has agreed to pay 6.7 million shekels under a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit, as reported on Tuesday, October 6. The lawsuit concerned the reduction of interest on deposits after partial withdrawals. The proceedings lasted nearly four years: the lawsuit was filed in November 2022, and the request to approve the settlement was submitted at the end of June 2026. The plaintiffs argued that when partially withdrawing money from a variable-rate deposit, the bank reduced the interest on the balance by changing the parameters, and that this was an illegal operation conducted without sufficient disclosure. The bank rejected the claims, stating that the rate update mechanism is part of the contract terms. The settlement terms apply to clients who partially withdrew money from a deposit with daily interest accrual or a floating rate based on the prime rate between November 2017 and November 2022. Each client will receive a refund calculated from the amount of interest deducted from them. For daily-rate deposits, the refund will be 37.7% of the interest amount saved by the bank. Clients with an active account will receive compensation within 60 days after the settlement is approved. The bank also committed to changing its practice: upon partial withdrawal from a daily-rate deposit, the client will have to actively confirm the change in terms, and the bank will provide more detailed disclosure of new interest rate data on the balance.