Leumi posts highest ever quarterly profit by an Israeli bank

Bank Leumi reported a second-quarter profit of NIS 2.83 billion, the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by an Israeli bank, up 8.5% from the corresponding quarter of 2025. The annualized return on equity was 16.3%. The results came despite a NIS 3 billion surtax on major banks. Excluding the surtax, profit was NIS 3.1 billion. The bank will distribute a dividend of NIS 1.4 billion.

Bank Leumi, led by CEO Hanan Friedman, reported a second-quarter net profit of NIS 2.83 billion, the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by an Israeli bank. This was 8.5% higher than the NIS 2.6 billion profit in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The annualized return on equity was 16.3%, slightly above the 16.2% in the same quarter last year. These results were achieved despite the imposition of an aggregate NIS 3 billion surtax on the five major banks this year. Excluding the surtax, the quarterly profit was NIS 3.1 billion and the return on equity was 17.9%. In the first half of the year, the annualized return on equity was 14.9%, at the higher end of the 13.75-15.25% range in its strategic plan. The bank will distribute a dividend of NIS 1.4 billion, with NIS 1.1 billion in cash and the remainder as a share buyback. Net interest income in the first half was NIS 4.57 billion, up 0.7% from the corresponding period of 2025. Non-performing loans were 0.45% of the credit portfolio in the second quarter, slightly up from 0.43%. The credit loss expense was NIS 291 million, 0.2% of average credit to the public. The bank's credit portfolio grew by 9% to NIS 566 billion in the first half, outstripping the 6.6% growth at Bank Hapoalim. The efficiency ratio improved to 24.9% from 29.1% in the previous quarter. The share price has climbed 24% in the past year, and the market cap is NIS 110 billion, making it Israel's largest bank.