Bank Hapoalim
One of Israel's two largest banks. Founded 1921 by the Histadrut. ~250 branches. Named in the May 6, 2026 concentration group declaration.
Bank Hapoalim is one of Israel's two largest banks. Together with Bank Leumi, the two banks hold approximately 48% of Israeli banking sector assets and more than 50% of public deposits. Hapoalim posted record earnings in 2024 and again in 2025, as part of consecutive record years for the Israeli banking sector — combined top-five net profit of NIS 29.5 billion in 2024 and approximately NIS 32 billion in 2025. The bank was fined NIS 40 million in April 2025 over its minority holding in fintech Neema, was named in the May 6, 2026 Competition Authority concentration group declaration, and was among the five Israeli banks divested by Norway's sovereign wealth fund in August 2025.
Fact box
| Type | Publicly traded commercial bank |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 (originally “The Workers' Bank”) |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Listed | Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (POLI) |
| Largest shareholder (per 2021 disclosure) | Shari Arison (15.74%) |
| Hebrew name meaning | The Workers' Bank (founded by the Histadrut) |
| Branch network | ~250 branches in Israel and abroad |
Bank Hapoalim is one of Israel's two largest commercial banks and a foundational institution of the Israeli financial system across more than a century. Founded in 1921, the bank operated for decades as the principal banking institution of the Histadrut (Israeli General Federation of Labor) before extensive privatization across the 1990s and 2000s.
Hapoalim's position in Israeli banking is anchored by its scale (one of the two largest banks by assets), its retail banking depth (network of more than 250 branches), its corporate banking position with Israeli industrial counterparties, and its substantial mortgage market position. The combination places Hapoalim at the center of the Israeli commercial banking sector.
2024 was a record year in modern Bank Hapoalim history. 2025 surpassed it as the sector posted a second consecutive record year, with combined top-five net profit reaching approximately NIS 32 billion. In April 2025, Hapoalim was fined NIS 40 million by the Competition Authority over its minority holding in the Israeli fintech Neema — the regulator signaling that incumbent commercial bank minority equity in fintech startups would face penalty. Hapoalim was named alongside the other four large banks in the May 6, 2026 concentration group declaration.
In August 2025, Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management — operator of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund — divested its stake in Hapoalim alongside Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, FIBI, and FIBI Holdings, citing concerns about the banks' role in financing settlement activity in the West Bank. Combined stakes in the five banks were valued at approximately $661 million prior to divestment.
Read Next in The Olam
- The Banking Oligopoly — Pillar context
- The Mortgage Market — Mortgage market detail
- Banking & Institutional Capital — Pillar
- Bank Leumi · Mizrahi Tefahot · Israel Discount Bank
Sources
- The Times of Israel, “Regulator demands fairness from Israeli banks as they cash in on hefty fees,” May 2025.
- Middle East Monitor citing Financial Times, “Israeli banks under fire for soaring profits,” September 2025.
- The Times of Israel, “Hapoalim and Discount each fined NIS 40 million by competition watchdog,” April 2025.
- The Times of Israel, “Israel's competition watchdog declares top 5 banks an oligopoly, targets deposits,” May 6, 2026.
- CNBC, “Norway's giant wealth fund exits six firms on Israel concerns,” August 26, 2025; Arab News, August 26, 2025.
- Bank Hapoalim 2024 and 2025 annual reports (TASE filings); Globes coverage 2024–2026.
Additional anchor sources: Israeli Competition Authority publications; Calcalist; Reuters. Data current as of Q2 2026.