First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FIBI) is Israel's fifth-largest bank, controlled by the Bino-Liberman Group, and the only major Israeli bank never nationalized in the 1983 bank stock crisis. FY2025 net income NIS 2.26 billion.
FIBI, First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FIBI), is Israel's fifth-largest banking group, controlled by the Bino-Liberman Group, and reported NIS 2.26 billion in net income for 2025 on a 16.2% return on equity. Founded in 1970, it is the only major Israeli bank that avoided nationalization during the 1983 bank stock crisis, since its shares were not part of the collapsed cross-guarantee arrangement that swallowed its larger rivals.
Snapshot
| Listing | TASE: FIBI |
| Founded | August 4, 1970 |
| Headquarters | First International Bank Tower, Tel Aviv |
| Control | Bino-Liberman Group, via FIBI Holdings Ltd. |
| FY2025 net income | NIS 2.26 billion (-4.7% vs. 2024) |
| FY2025 ROE | 16.2% (19.1% adjusted for excess Tier 1 capital) |
| FY2025 total revenue | NIS 6.9 billion (+2.6% vs. 2024) |
| Customer assets, year-end 2025 | NIS 1,161 billion (+38.4% vs. year-end 2024) |
| Shareholders' equity | NIS 14.6 billion (+8.8% vs. year-end 2024) |
| Notable subsidiary | CAL (credit card issuer) |
Why Wasn't FIBI Nationalized in the 1983 Bank Stock Crisis?
Israel's four largest banks — Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot's predecessor entities — collapsed into a state bailout during the 1983 bank stock crisis, when a coordinated share-support scheme by the banks themselves fell apart. FIBI was the only major Israeli bank that stood outside that arrangement, and so avoided the government takeover that nationalized its larger competitors for the following decade and a half. That history is part of why FIBI still operates as an independently controlled bank today, rather than one whose ownership passed through a state-privatization process.
Who Controls FIBI?
FIBI's largest shareholder is FIBI Holdings Ltd., whose controlling shareholder is the Bino-Liberman Group — the same family group behind Paz Oil, one of Israel's largest fuel and gas-station networks. Israel Discount Bank has historically held a significant minority block of FIBI shares as well, a legacy of cross-bank holdings from Israel's smaller-bank consolidation era.
How Big Is FIBI Compared to Israel's Other Banks?
FIBI ranks fifth among Israel's banking groups by scale, behind Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot. It nonetheless posted NIS 2.26 billion in net income for 2025, with customer assets under management or administration reaching NIS 1,161 billion by year-end — a 38.4% jump from the year before, driven largely by growth in off-balance-sheet customer asset management rather than the loan book alone, which grew a more modest 12.9%. That gap between asset growth and lending growth suggests FIBI's recent expansion is concentrated in fee-generating wealth and brokerage services rather than traditional balance-sheet lending.
What Is CAL and Why Did It Drag on 2025 Earnings?
CAL, FIBI's credit-card subsidiary, posted nonrecurring losses during 2025 that weighed on group results — FIBI's third-quarter 2025 net income of NIS 581 million would have been NIS 624 million (a 17.4% ROE instead of 16.2%) excluding those losses. Group-wide fee income, which includes card-related revenue, still grew 14.4% for the full year to NIS 1.8 billion, suggesting the CAL losses were a one-time item rather than a structural decline in the fee business.
How Does FIBI Return Capital to Shareholders?
FIBI pays quarterly dividends; its board approved approximately NIS 522 million in distributions alongside the fourth-quarter 2025 results, part of a payout pattern that has run above 50% of net income in recent years. The bank has consistently run with a Tier 1 capital buffer above its own target ratio, which is why it reports both a headline ROE and a higher adjusted ROE that excludes the surplus capital.
The Takeaway
FIBI's history as the one major Israeli bank the 1983 crisis didn't nationalize still shapes its position today: a smaller, independently controlled bank built around a single family group's stake rather than a state-privatization legacy, competing on scale against banks several times its size while posting comparable returns on equity. Its size relative to Hapoalim and Leumi means it is unlikely to challenge them for market share, but its consistent profitability and family-controlled structure make it a stable, if lower-profile, fixture of Israeli banking.
FAQ
What is FIBI?
First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FIBI) is Israel's fifth-largest banking group, founded in 1970 and controlled by the Bino-Liberman Group.
Who owns FIBI?
FIBI Holdings Ltd. is the largest shareholder, itself controlled by the Bino-Liberman Group, the family behind Paz Oil. Israel Discount Bank has historically held a minority stake.
Why was FIBI never nationalized?
Unlike Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, and Israel Discount Bank, FIBI was not part of the coordinated share-support scheme that collapsed in the 1983 bank stock crisis, so it avoided the government takeover that followed for its larger rivals.
How profitable is FIBI?
FIBI reported NIS 2.26 billion in net income for 2025, a 16.2% return on equity (19.1% adjusted for excess capital), on NIS 6.9 billion in total revenue.
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Primary Sources
First International Bank of Israel Q4/FY2025 and Q3 2025 results (PRNewswire/Morningstar/GuruFocus). Wikipedia: First International Bank of Israel.