HAPOALIM BANK PLANS TO SELL SWISS BUSINESS

The Swiss financial market has lost its allure as a place for offshore banking. Another foreign bank is about to divest its operations.

Bank Hapoalim bank wants to sell its Swiss private-banking unit, the Israel-based «Globes» newspaper reported today. The bank didn't comment the report.

Bank Hapoalim, based in Tel Aviv, aims to sell three overseas units – in Switzerland, Latin America and Miami, as a single entity, the newspaper said, but will also consider separate deals.



The company has commissioned Amir Aviv with finding a buyer for the units. Aviv is the former head of the international division.

Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) is in category I of the U.S. tax program and is waiting for the verdict regarding the size of fine it has to pay. It has already set aside $500 million as cover for the fine.

The Swiss unit is valued at about $400 million. It made a profit of 11 million francs last year and is not a major division within Hapoalim, Israel's biggest bank. The company had net income of $790 in 2015.

The planned sale of the Swiss unit is seen in the context of increased regulation in Switzerland, which makes banking more expensive. Instead of continuing with overseas private banking, Hapoalim now wants to shift its focus on commercial credits in the U.S., «Globes» said.

The newspaper also said that Julius Baer, the Zurich-based private bank, was interested in buying the Hapoalim unit. The bank previously bought the Swiss business of Bank Leumi, also before the U.S. tax deal had been concluded. The ongoing investigation by the U.S. judiciary is not seen as a potential hinder to a sale. Julius Baer declined to comment.