A stormy meeting was held yesterday at the Bank of Israel's offices in Tel Aviv. Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer and Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu met with Bank Hapoalim (LSE: 80OA; TASE: POLI) controlling shareholder Shari Arison and her lawyer and advisor Adv. Pinchas Rubin.
The meeting was convened to discuss dissatisfaction with decision making at Bank Hapoalim. The meeting dealt with Bank Hapoalim's behavior regarding the firing of CEO Zvi Ziv. The bank's chairman Dan Dankner was not present at the meeting.
A knowledgeable source said that voices were raised and the atmosphere was highly charged. Bank of Israel refused to comment on the meeting but Bank Hapoalim confirmed that it took place.
The Bank of Israel is reportedly concerned about the undue influence of people who have no loyalty to the bank, mainly advisors and friends of Arison.
In March, Ziv resigned with one year and nine months still remaining on his contract. The bank's board of directors accepted his resignation. Ziv was replaced by the former deputy CEO and head of the business division Zion Keinan, who enjoys the full support of Dankner.
However, several days later Hizkiyahu announced that he was suspending the appointment of Keinan, arguing that, "it is appropriate that the selection procedure for a CEO should be undertaken in a deep and well-thought out way and in a calculated and organized manner."
After the meeting Arison issued a statement expressing her full support in Dankner and his leadership of Bank Hapoalim.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2009
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