- Bank Leumi
Infobox Company
name = Bank Leumi
type = Private
genre =
foundation = 27 February, 1902
founder =
location_city =
location_country =Israel
location =
locations =
origins =London ,UK
key_people =
area_served =Israel and 19 other countries
industry =Banking
products =
services =Financial Services
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner =
slogan =
homepage = [http://www.leumi.co.il/ www.leumi.co.il]
dissolved =
footnotes =Bank Leumi ( _he. בנק לאומי, lit. "National Bank") is an
Israel ibank . It was founded inLondon as the "Anglo Palestine Company" onFebruary 27 ,1902 by members of the Zionist movement to promote the industry, construction, agriculture, and infrastructure ofPalestine .History
Bank Leumi was founded at the Second
Zionist Congress and incorporated in London in 1899 as the financial instrument of the Zionist Organization. The initial capital raised - a total of £395,000 - fell far short of the £8 million target. The bank's activities in Palestine were carried out by the Anglo-Palestine Bank, a subsidiary formed in 1902. The bank opened its first branch in Jaffa in 1903 under the management of Zalman David Levontin. Early transactions included land purchase, imports and obtaining concessions. Branches were opened inJerusalem ,Beirut ,Hebron ,Safed ,Haifa ,Tiberias andGaza . [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:I7SkYXWPQ24J:www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/jct.html+anglo+palestine+bank+jerusalem&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 Anglo-Palestine Bank ] ]The Anglo-Palestine Bank offered farmers long-term loans and provided loans to the Ahuzat Bayit association which built the first neighborhood in
Tel Aviv . [ [http://english.leumi.co.il/Home/0,2777,2849,00.html Bank Leumi - Leumi’s Heritage ] ] During World War I, the Turkish government declared the bank, registered in England, to be an enemy institution and moved to shut it down and confiscate its cash. [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:I7SkYXWPQ24J:www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/jct.html+anglo+palestine+bank+jerusalem&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 Anglo-Palestine Bank ] ]After World War I, its operations expanded. In 1932, the main branch moved from Jaffa to Jerusalem.
During
World War II , the Anglo-Palestine Bank helped to finance the establishment of industries that manufactured supplies for the British army. After the founding of the state, the bank won the concession to issue new banknotes. In 1950, the bank was renamed Bank Leumi Le-Israel (National Bank of Israel). When the Bank of Israel was established in 1954, Bank Leumi became acommercial bank .The bank was nationalized in 1983, as a result of the Bank Stock Crisis. The bank complies with the ramifications of
loans and interest in Judaism .Modern times
Today, Bank Leumi is one of Israel's leading commercial banks, with $85 billion in assets and a presence in 21 countries (as of 2008).
Bank Leumi is mainly in private hands, with the government as the largest single share holder, with 14.8% of the stock (as of June 2006). The other major shareholders are Shlomo Eliahu and Branea Invest, which each hold 10% of the stock, constituting the control core of the bank. 60% of the bank's stocks are held by the public and traded on the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange .Landmark buildings
The main branch of Bank Leumi on Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, built during the
British Mandate , has been declared a landmark building. [Jerusalem Master Plan [http://www.pcc-jer.org/arabic/Publication/jerusalem_master_plan/engchapt/preservaion_10.pdf] ] Another branch of Bank Leumi on the corner ofRamban Street in Jerusalem'sRehavia neighborhood, an example ofBauhaus architecture, was designed by the German Jewish architectLeopold Krakauer . [http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_12.html] It was built in 1935 as a private home, and was renovated in 2007 to restore the original facade.References
External links
* [http://english.leumi.co.il Official website] en icon
* [http://www.bankleumi.lu Bank Leumi Luxembourg]
* [http://www.leumi.ro Bank Leumi Romania]
* [http://www.leumi.ch Bank Leumi Switzerland]
* [http://www.bankleumi.co.uk Bank Leumi UK]
* [http://www.leumiusa.com Bank Leumi USA]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.