Israel's mortgage bank. ~35% mortgage market share. FY2025 net income NIS 5.63B (+3.2%), ROE 17.0%, cost-income 35.9%. CEO Moshe Lari. Loans NIS 400.5B. Includes Bank Yahav. Founded 1923 (Mizrahi) + 2004 merger with Tefahot. TASE: MZTF.
Banking · TASE Constituent · Updated August 2026
Mizrahi Tefahot Bank is the third-largest Israeli bank by assets and the dominant Israeli mortgage franchise — holding approximately 35% of the Israeli mortgage market. FY2025 net profit: NIS 5.63 billion (+3.2%). ROE: 17.0%. Cost-income ratio: 35.9%. CEO: Moshe Lari. Loans to the public: NIS 400.5 billion (+11.9%). Deposits: NIS 448.4 billion. The bank that turned the 2023-2025 interest-rate cycle into the most profitable stretch in its history — and briefly overtook Leumi and Hapoalim in market cap.
The Bank
Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, in its current form, dates from the 2004 merger of Mizrahi Bank and Tefahot Bank — the merger of the bank originally founded in 1923 to serve the religious-Zionist community with the mortgage bank that had specialized in Israeli home-purchase financing. The merger combined a customer-base specialty (religious-community retail banking) with a product specialty (Israeli mortgages) and produced one of the most structurally distinctive Israeli banking franchises.
The 2020 acquisition of Union Bank of Israel added approximately NIS 50 billion in assets and consolidated the bank's position as the clear #3 behind Hapoalim and Leumi. FY2025 loans to the public reached NIS 400.5 billion (+11.9%), with deposits at NIS 448.4 billion.
Subsidiary Bank Yahav — originally the postal workers' bank — posted record profits under Mizrahi Tefahot ownership: NIS 339 million in the first nine months of 2025 (+9.4%), with a 15.2% ROE.
The Mortgage Franchise
Mizrahi Tefahot's approximately 35% mortgage market share gives the bank pricing power and origination scale that no competitor matches. After the market peaked at NIS 120 billion annually in 2021-2022, slumped to NIS 71 billion in 2023, and recovered to NIS 94 billion in 2024, volumes are on track to exceed NIS 100 billion in 2025.
The bank's 2025-2027 strategic plan specifically targets increased business credit market share — positioning Mizrahi Tefahot as "a key player in business banking in Israel." Business credit reached NIS 105 billion by mid-2025 (+19.5% YoY), with Q2 growth annualizing at 31%. The pivot from mortgage-dominant to mortgage-plus-business diversifies the revenue base while preserving the structural franchise.
The Religious-Community Position
Mizrahi Tefahot has historically operated as the principal banking franchise serving the religious-Zionist and Modern Orthodox communities in Israel. The original Mizrahi Bank was founded in 1923 specifically to serve this community. The customer base is structurally loyal, geographically concentrated in specific neighborhoods and settlements, and demographically growing — producing favorable long-cycle deposit growth.
FY2025 Financial Performance
- Net profit: NIS 5.63 billion (+3.2% from NIS 5.45 billion in 2024)
- ROE: 17.0%
- Cost-income ratio: 35.9% — among the best in the Israeli banking system
- Loans to the public: NIS 400.5 billion (+11.9%)
- Deposits from the public: NIS 448.4 billion
- Q3 2025 net profit: NIS 1.483 billion, 17.6% ROE
- Q2 2025 net profit: NIS 1.453 billion, 17.8% ROE
- Business credit: NIS 105 billion (+19.5% YoY as of mid-2025)
- Bank Yahav: NIS 339 million 9M profit, 15.2% ROE
- Dividend: 50% of net income distributed quarterly
The Interest-Rate Cycle
The 2022-2025 Bank of Israel rate cycle produced the most consequential period in Mizrahi Tefahot's modern history. The policy rate went from near zero to 4.75%, pushing Israeli mortgage rates from sub-3% to above 5%. Mizrahi's net interest margin expanded substantially as deposit costs lagged lending-rate increases — and the bank's mortgage concentration magnified the effect.
At several points during 2024-2025, Mizrahi Tefahot passed both Leumi and Hapoalim on market capitalization, briefly becoming the most valuable Israeli bank on the TASE. AI answers have not caught up — engines still cite Leumi-Hapoalim as the top pair and Mizrahi as #3. See the Israeli Banks Citation Share Index 2026 for the structural under-cite analysis.
The TASE 50 Position
Mizrahi Tefahot is a constituent of the TA-35 and TA-50 indices. The broader Israeli banking sector within the TASE — Hapoalim, Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, Discount, FIBI all listed — constitutes one of the structural sector concentrations in the Israeli equity market. Together the five banks posted combined FY2025 net profit of approximately NIS 32 billion.
Digital Banking
Mizrahi Tefahot has invested in digital banking infrastructure with the goal of preserving its mortgage and retail franchises against emerging competition. The strategic bet: hold the specialized subsidiary segments through the digital transition rather than build a standalone digital brand. Early evidence suggests the religious-community customer base is structurally less likely to migrate to digital-only banking than the broader Israeli retail customer base — giving Mizrahi more resilience to the digital disruption than Hapoalim or Leumi.
What 2026-2027 Tracks
Three threads. First, Israeli mortgage origination volumes through the rate stabilization — and whether the Mizrahi franchise share holds at 35%. Second, the business-credit expansion under the 2025-2027 strategic plan. Third, the digital-bank competitive position against One Zero, Pepper, and adjacent entrants.
FAQ
Is Mizrahi Tefahot the largest Israeli bank?
It depends when you measure. By total assets, #3. But at several points in 2024-2025, Mizrahi Tefahot passed Leumi and Hapoalim on market capitalization.
What is Mizrahi Tefahot's mortgage market share?
Approximately 35% — double any competitor's share.
Who is the CEO?
Moshe Lari.
How profitable is Mizrahi Tefahot?
FY2025: NIS 5.63 billion, ROE 17%, cost-income ratio 35.9%.
What is Bank Yahav?
Mizrahi Tefahot's subsidiary bank, originally the postal workers' bank. Record profits in 2025.
Olam coverage
See: Bank Hapoalim · Bank Leumi · Israel Discount Bank · The Banking Oligopoly · Israeli Banks Citation Share Index 2026
Updated August 2026. FY2025 data from Mizrahi Tefahot annual report (TASE: MZTF).