| As announced today by Bank Leumi, the General Meeting of shareholders yesterday elected four directors to the board. In accordance with the law, the directors must be approved as fit and proper by the Supervisor of Banks. |
| The Bank of Israel, as the body responsible for banking corporations’ methods of operation and proper management, among other things, considers it appropriate to repeat and emphasize that in banking corporations in which the means of control are widely dispersed among many shareholders, it must be ensured that those holding a high share of the means of control relative to most shareholders do not have the ability to direct the activity of the banking corporation without obtaining the required permit from the Governor of the Bank of Israel. |
| The Bank of Israel is therefore promoting, together with the Ministry of Finance, an amendment to the banking laws, which among other things will include directives for proposing candidates to serve as directors in banking corporations without controlling interests. The proposed amendment strikes a balance between the rights of holders of the means of control to propose candidates to serve as directors and to work towards their appointment, and the aim of preventing effective control over a banking corporation being obtained without receipt of a permit from the Governor. The amendment has been approved by the government, and is currently under discussion in the Knesset Finance Committee. |
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