Olam maps the Swiss and Israeli banks serving Jewish family offices, and how US cases against Leumi (2014) and Hapoalim (2020) ended Israeli-owned Swiss private banking.
Israeli-connected family offices bank in layers. Five Swiss private banks (Pictet, Lombard Odier, J. Safra Sarasin, Edmond de Rothschild and Julius Baer) hold offshore custody, three Israeli banks (Leumi, Mizrahi-Tefahot and Discount) run onshore accounts, and US institutions add dollar banking. US cases against Bank Leumi in 2014 ($400 million) and Bank Hapoalim in 2020 ($874 million) pushed both banks out of Swiss private banking.
Which Swiss banks anchor Israeli-connected family offices?
Pictet, Lombard Odier, J. Safra Sarasin, Edmond de Rothschild and Julius Baer form the Swiss custody layer in Olam's mapping of Israeli-connected family offices. Pictet (founded 1805) and Lombard Odier (founded 1796) are Geneva banks owned by their partners. J. Safra Sarasin took its present form in 2013, when Safra Group merged Bank Sarasin, founded in 1841, with its own Swiss bank, according to Wealth Briefing Asia.
| Bank | Base | Role in the stack (Olam's mapping) |
|---|---|---|
| Pictet | Geneva | Custody and discretionary management for family offices |
| Lombard Odier | Geneva | Custody and discretionary management for family offices |
| J. Safra Sarasin | Basel | Custody with ties to the Safra network in Brazil and New York; see the Safra family banking profile |
| Edmond de Rothschild | Geneva | Private banking and asset management |
| Julius Baer | Zurich | Listed private bank; Leumi's Swiss arm announced in July 2014 that it would hand most of its clients to Julius Baer |
Edmond de Rothschild is a different institution from Rothschild & Co. The first is a private bank. The second is an advisory and merchant-banking group that works on transactions.
Why did Israeli banks leave Swiss private banking?
Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim left Swiss private banking after US authorities found that their banks helped US taxpayers hide offshore accounts. Both cases ended with penalties of hundreds of millions of dollars.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 2014 | Leumi Private Bank in Switzerland announces a partnership with Julius Baer under which it hands over most of its clients | Swissinfo |
| December 2014 | Bank Leumi agrees to pay $400 million: $270 million to the US Department of Justice and $130 million to the New York Department of Financial Services. $157 million of the federal amount is a fine tied to US accounts at Leumi's Swiss unit | Globes |
| 2020 | Bank Hapoalim agrees to pay $874 million. It admitted conspiring with US clients between 2002 and 2014 to hide more than $7.6 billion in more than 5,500 accounts | Investment Executive |
| 2020 | Hapoalim decides to shut down its Swiss operations | Retail Banker International |
Olam's read is that these two cases explain the current structure. Israeli families that want Swiss custody now deal with Swiss-owned banks directly, and Israeli banks run their private banking onshore.
Where do Israeli banks fit once custody sits in Switzerland?
Bank Leumi, Mizrahi-Tefahot and Israel Discount Bank handle the Israeli side of the stack in Olam's mapping: operating accounts, Israeli-source income, real estate and mortgages. Bank Leumi owns Bank Leumi USA, and Israel Discount Bank owns IDB New York, which give US-resident principals a dollar route into Israeli banking.
The guide to Israeli banks for olim covers account opening and mortgages. The Israeli banking guide for 2026 covers how the five main banks compare.
How do Geneva, Tel Aviv, Miami and New York split the work?
A family office splits banking by function, with Geneva and Zurich holding custody, Tel Aviv handling Israeli operations, and Miami and New York providing US banking and advisers, according to Olam's mapping.
| Location | Function | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Geneva and Zurich | Custody, discretionary management, trusts | Pictet, Lombard Odier, Edmond de Rothschild, Julius Baer |
| Basel | Custody linked to the Safra network | J. Safra Sarasin |
| Tel Aviv | Residence banking, operating businesses, Israeli real estate | Leumi, Mizrahi-Tefahot, Discount |
| Miami and New York | US onshore banking, multi-family offices, advisers | US private banks and family-office service firms |
Which decisions come first for a family moving to Israel?
A family that becomes Israeli tax resident decides three things first: where custody stays, which Israeli bank holds the operating account, and how statements from both will reconcile. The 2026 aliyah reform changes the tax exemption schedule, which Olam explains in Inside Israel's 2026 aliyah reform and the aliyah tax reform dictionary entry.
Ask a cross-border tax adviser how each Swiss custodian reports to Israeli and US authorities before the move. For the wider family-office picture, read the Israeli family offices guide and the 2026 family office relocation cycle.
Olam reports on banking infrastructure and does not provide banking, investment or tax advice. Last updated October 6, 2026.
How we report: Olam stories draw on public filings, company disclosures and named sources, checked by our editors. Read our methodology · Corrections
