Israel's last freestanding mortgage bank is set to lose its independence.
The Israeli business publication Globes reports that Leumi Mortgage is being merged with its parent company, Bank Leumi. As part of the merger, a separate mortgage unit will be created that reports to Bank Leumi's banking division. The new unit will continue to work with the current Leuimi Mortgage organizational structure of 110 mortgage representative branches. None of Leumi Mortgage's 500 employees will be laid off.
The merger is designed to expand Bank Leumi's retail base – currently, many Leumi Mortgage customers are not doing business with Bank Leumi. Leumi Mortgage is Israel's third largest mortgage bank, with roughly one-quarter of the nation's market share.
‘This merger will enable the Leumi group as a whole to make a step forward at its level of synergy and quality of product offered to its customers,’ says Galia Maor, Bank Leumi president and CEO.