Deals
Israel Bank Regulator Signals Support for Mizrahi-Union Deal
- Merger would boost competition in Israel’s banking sector
- Mizrahi hopes to take on Israel’s leaders in corporate lending
Hedva Ber, Israels Supervisor of Banks. Source: Dafna Tal
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Israel’s chief banking regulator said she would support the sale of Union Bank of Israel Ltd. to its bigger rival Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. because it would strengthen competition in the country’s financial sector.
Mizrahi is in negotiations to buy Union for about $405 million in a deal that would need approval in Israel’s tightly regulated business environment. Any deal would land on the desk of Hedva Ber, the Bank of Israel’s financial system supervisor, who said she “would look positively at the scenario in which Israel becomes a market of three big players” instead of two -- Bank Hapoalim BM and Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM.