First International Bank of Israel

First International Bank of Israel, commonly abbreviated FIBI, is a universal bank and the parent bank of a group that includes Massad Bank. Its group profile places it among Israel’s five largest banking groups and says the two banks operate approximately 125 branches, with group assets of more than NIS 270 billion.[1] The Bank of Israel lists it among the banking corporations under its supervision, with reporting code 31001.[2]

The group conducts corporate and middle-market banking, retail and small-business services, private banking, capital-market activity, investment and pension advice, mortgage lending, foreign-trade services and digital banking. It uses Massad and the PAGI, Otzar Ha-Hayal and UBank brands or branch networks to serve specialized customer groups.[1][7]

First International Bank of Israel was established in 1972 following a decision by Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir. The bank’s stated foundation was the merger of Export Bank Ltd. and Foreign Trade Bank Ltd.; the latter owned Mortgage and Savings Bank Ltd., later renamed First International Mortgage Bank Ltd. A separate historical account describes the formation as combining these institutions with Israel Industrial Bank, Independence Bank for Mortgages and Development, and several independent provident funds.[3][4]

The bank expanded through acquisitions and mergers. It acquired control of Israeli Industrial Bank in 1976; that bank was renamed First International Industrial Finance Bank in 1985 and merged into FIBI in 1994. Poalei Agudat Israel Bank, known as PAGI, was established in 1977 with FIBI holding 65%. FIBI acquired the remaining shares in 2010, and PAGI merged into FIBI in 2015 while retaining its brand. FIBI also acquired Lemelacha Bank in 1978 and incorporated its business, branches and employees. It acquired full ownership of UBank in 2004, and UBank merged with FIBI in 2015 while keeping its brand.[3]

The group’s mortgage and development businesses were consolidated over time. First International Mortgage Bank acquired 50.5% of Atzmaut Mortgage and Development Bank in 1983, increased that stake to 88% by the end of 2004 and bought the remaining shares in 2005. FIBI acquired the remaining shares in First International Mortgage Bank in 2006; later that year, both it and Atzmaut merged into FIBI.[3]

Other acquisitions broadened the group. FIBI acquired approximately 20% of Israel Credit Cards in 2000, later increasing its holdings to 28.2% of capital and 21% of voting rights. It acquired control of Otzar Hachayal in 2006, increased its stake over subsequent years and bought the remaining shares in 2018; Otzar Hachayal merged into FIBI in 2019 but retained its brand. FIBI acquired 51% of Massad Bank’s share capital in 2008.[3]

The bank’s ownership changed repeatedly. At its formation, its investors included the State of Israel, investing through FIBI Holdings, and the American First Pennsylvania Bank. First Pennsylvania sold its stake to the Eisenberg group in 1978; the following year, that group sold it to the Danot group, owned by 11 industrialists. A Jewish Virtual Library account of the Tenth Knesset period says that after the collapse of Israeli bank shares, the government held shares in all the major banks except First International.[4][8]

Globes’ historical account says Jacques Nasser acquired control of FIBI Holdings in 1986 and that the Safra family acquired control of the bank in 1990. A 1996 Globes report, however, described a dispute over whether Edmund Safra was the actual controller behind Nasser’s earlier acquisition; it reported Nasser’s allegation that he had acted as Safra’s front man. The precise account of control during this period should therefore be treated cautiously.[4][9]

In April 2003, the Safra family agreed to sell its approximately 52% interest in FIBI Holdings, the bank’s parent, to a group led by Zadik Bino and the Liberman family for US$90 million in cash. The proposed buyers’ group was to be 55% owned by Bino Holdings and 45% by the Australian Liberman family. At the time, the bank was described as Israel’s fifth-largest, with about US$700 million in capital and more than US$10 billion in assets.[10]

FIBI also built an international presence before later exiting those operations. It incorporated a wholly owned London subsidiary in 1981 and a Swiss subsidiary in 1984, both with local banking licenses.[3] A separate historical account says the bank opened a Zurich branch in 1984.[4] The bank sold FIBI Bank (UK) in 2014.[3][11] In December 2016, it agreed to sell its Swiss subsidiary’s customer portfolio, and its history records the sale of the Swiss bank in 2017.[3][12]

The international withdrawals followed financial and regulatory pressures. The London operation was sold to Tungsten Corporation for £30 million, or NIS 175 million; the bank said tighter foreign regulation and low profitability made the business unattractive. FIBI Bank (UK) had reported a £371,000 loss in the first quarter of 2014.[11] In Switzerland, the customer portfolio included CHF 876 million in assets as of September 2016, and the transaction with CBH included a CHF 7 million payment plus an amount equal to the subsidiary’s CHF 59.2 million equity. The Swiss business had been losing money amid declining assets, higher private-banking costs and reduced economies of scale.[12]

FIBI is described as a universal bank, with operations across corporate and commercial banking, capital markets, investment advice, private banking, retail banking and small-business services.[7][5] Its 2025 annual report describes financial intermediation between depositors and borrowers as the basis of commercial banking and the principal source of profit through net interest income. Other activities include foreign-currency and international-trade services, securities, information services, credit cards and derivatives, investment and pension consulting, operational banking for capital markets, and trusteeship for institutional customers.[7]

Retail services include current accounts, credit, savings, mortgages, and investment and pension advice. The bank also identifies internet and mobile applications and automated service machines as direct channels for customer service. Its corporate and commercial offerings include credit, foreign-trade services and guarantees, financing for capital-market operations, and foreign-currency investment management.[1]

The group includes Massad Bank as an Israeli banking subsidiary. Its brands serve distinct customer groups: Massad specializes in services for teaching personnel; PAGI focuses on Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox community banking; and Otzar Ha-Hayal serves household customers, with particular expertise in services for defense forces personnel.[1][3] The bank’s group profile says the group operates approximately 125 branches and has assets of more than NIS 270 billion.[1]

FIBI’s domestic strategy broadened in 2003, after 32 years focused on business customers, wealthy private-banking clients and foreign customers. It began seeking household customers, spending more than NIS 5 million on converting branches to personal-banking branches, training staff, and changing systems and technology. The bank said it then held 5–6% of the household market and aimed for 10% within three years; during the strategy’s first months, it raised more than NIS 1 billion from private customers through structured products.[6]

The bank continued to develop services for particular customer groups. In May 2023, it won a seven-year tender, beginning December 1 of that year, to provide credit and banking services to defense-system personnel, with an option to extend for three years. The tender included account-management and credit terms as well as the operation of bank branches at IDF bases.[7]

The Bank of Israel lists First International Bank of Israel Ltd. among the banking corporations it supervises, under code 31001.[2] A Library of Congress country study identified it as one of five major bank groups in Israel’s financial system in 1988, alongside Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi Le Israel, Israel Discount Bank and United Mizrahi Bank. The study described the system as concentrated among a limited number of large banking groups under Bank of Israel supervision; it said the three largest groups held more than 80% of total bank assets but did not identify whether First International was among those three.[13]

A 2016 economic analysis prepared for Bank Hapoalim classified FIBI as one of five universal banking groups and as a midsize bank, alongside Discount and Mizrahi-Tefahot. It distinguished these from the larger Hapoalim and Leumi groups and from smaller banks.[14] In a separate 1999 commercial guide, the U.S. Department of State listed First International among Israeli banks maintaining correspondent relationships with major U.S. banks, but did not specify the bank’s subsidiary location.[15]

Bank of Israel figures for 2023 recorded 132 branches, total assets of NIS 221.593 billion, credit to the public of NIS 119.240 billion, deposits by the public of NIS 191.125 billion and equity of NIS 12.646 billion. The survey assigned the bank 8.8% of total banking-system assets and 7.6% of total bank credit; the figures were presented on a consolidated basis.[16]

The same survey showed contrasting movement in household and business lending between year-end 2022 and year-end 2023. Household credit fell from NIS 59.045 billion to NIS 57.631 billion, a reported decline of 2.39%. The 2023 household total included NIS 35.450 billion in housing credit, NIS 3.853 billion in credit-card credit and NIS 18.328 billion in other consumer credit.[16]

Business-sector credit, by contrast, rose from NIS 55.995 billion at the end of 2022 to NIS 60.780 billion at the end of 2023, an increase of 8.55%. The 2023 balance included NIS 18.093 billion for small and micro businesses, NIS 7.442 billion for medium businesses and NIS 35.245 billion for large businesses. The survey defined the categories by turnover: below NIS 50 million for small and micro businesses, NIS 50–250 million for medium businesses, and NIS 250 million or more for large businesses.[16]

The 2016 analysis reported that FIBI accounted in 2014 for 13.0% of household credit and 6.8% of small-business credit, within the report’s market definitions. It cautioned that the bank changed its small-business classification in 2013 and that earlier figures were adjusted to reflect that change; the reclassification partly explained the reported increase in small-business market share that year.[14]

Ownership data also vary by reporting date and category. The Bank of Israel’s 2023 survey listed 48.4% of First International’s shares as held by parties at interest, 5.5% by institutional investors and 46.17% by the public. It reported NIS 798 million in dividends distributed, or NIS 412 million net of holdings by parties at interest.[16] The bank’s 2025 annual report identified FIBI Holdings Ltd. as its direct parent, holding 48.34% of issued share capital and voting rights. It said FIBI Holdings was controlled by Binohon Ltd., Dolphin Energies Ltd. and Instanz No. 2 Ltd., whose controlling shareholders were parties to a voting and cooperation agreement.[7]

The wider ownership context has also changed. A 2025 U.S. Department of State investment-climate statement said the State of Israel held 6% of Bank Leumi’s shares and that all other Israeli banks were fully private; it did not give a First International-specific ownership percentage or name its shareholders.[17] That broad characterization is consistent with FIBI’s identification of FIBI Holdings as its direct parent and should not be confused with the Bank of Israel’s earlier categories for parties at interest, institutional investors and the public.[7][16]

For 2024, First International reported net profit of NIS 2.37 billion, 9.2% above 2023, and return on equity of 19%. Globes described that return as the highest among Israel’s banks that year. Net credit to the public grew 10% to NIS 129 billion and public deposits rose 12.4% to NIS 215 billion. The bank reported net income of NIS 16 million in its credit-loss item, compared with a net expense of NIS 502 million in 2023.[18]

The bank declared a cash dividend equal to 40% of profit and said its board would discuss a policy of distributing up to 50% of annual net profit, subject to economic and banking developments.[18] The 2025 annual report recorded consolidated assets of NIS 277.833 billion at December 31, 2025, up 11.8% from NIS 248.563 billion a year earlier. Net profit attributable to shareholders was NIS 2.260 billion in 2025, compared with NIS 2.371 billion in 2024; return on equity was 16.2%, versus 19.0% in 2024.[7]

In 2025, FIBI also exercised its right to join a transaction announced by Discount to sell Discount’s holdings in Israel Credit Cards to Union Investments and Development and Harel Insurance Investments. FIBI notified Discount on November 19 that it would join the deal. The transaction remained conditional in the report; if completed, FIBI expected a net gain of up to NIS 132 million, with possible additional gains of up to NIS 52 million depending on conditional consideration.[7]

In May 2026, the Israel Competition Authority designated the five largest Israeli banks, including First International, as a concentration group. The authority cited their combined control of about 98% of banking-sector assets at the end of 2024 and had investigated retail-banking competition and measures concerning deposits. The Bank of Israel criticized the designation as an “extreme and disproportionate step,” making the regulatory characterization a matter of competing institutional assessments.[19]

The bank has also appeared in public discussion concerning disputed territories. A 2023 Foundation for Defense of Democracies article listed it among Israeli banks and telecommunications firms that the article described as publicly traded Israel-connected companies operating in disputed territories, without providing further bank-specific detail in the passage. The article’s characterization is not a detailed account of the bank’s activities there.[20]

A separate cyber incident brought the bank into a national-security discussion. In January 2012, hackers calling themselves “Nightmare” disrupted activity on First International’s website as part of attacks that briefly brought down the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al. An INSS publication also reported that a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip described the incident as the organization initiating a new field of resistance against the Israeli occupation; that statement is an attributed characterization, not independent proof of Hamas’s role in the cyberattack.[21]