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Israel's Biggest Bank Sets Aside $80 Million More for U.S. Fines

  • Hapoalim has provisioned $268.5 million for U.S. tax probe
  • Shares gain most in more than four years as volume surges
Customers wait beside automated teller machines (ATM) outside a Bank Hapoalim Ltd. bank branch in Jerusalem, Israel, on Sunday, March 16, 2014. The Bank of Israel's surprise interest-rate cut last month was another shot in a losing battle against one of the world's strongest currencies.
Customers wait beside automated teller machines (ATM) outside a Bank Hapoalim Ltd. bank branch in Jerusalem, Israel, on Sunday, March 16, 2014. The Bank of Israel's surprise interest-rate cut last month was another shot in a losing battle against one of the world's strongest currencies.Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

Bank Hapoalim Ltd., Israel’s largest lender, set aside an additional $80 million for potential fines stemming as U.S. authorities probe whether the bank helped clients evade taxes.

The decision to increase those provisions, which now stand at $268.5 million, comes after Hapoalim held discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice between September and November, according to a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filing Thursday. The DOJ and the New York Department of Financial Services are investigating tax evasion claims against the Israeli bank.