Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer and Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) chairman Dan Dankner met at 3 pm today for a private meeting that lasted about an hour. The meeting was held at Fischer's office in Tel Aviv.
It turns out that during the public and well-publicized meeting between Fischer and Dankner at the Globes Finance and Capital Markets Conference, the two men secretly agreed to met later in the day. They wish to bring to a close the confrontation between the Bank of Israel and Bank Hapoalim, in which Fischer and Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu criticized Dankner's conduct and sought his ouster, while Bank Hapoalim controlling shareholder Shari Arison and the bank's board of directors have steadily supported Dankner.
Bank Hapoalim has criticized Bank of Israel officials for not meeting Dankner about his conduct. Dankner does not know why Fischer and Hizkiyahu want his removal. Fischer presumably told Dankner exactly what was on his mind at the meeting today.
Fischer and Hizkiyahu are waiting for a signal from Arison about a three-way deal that will include the identity of the chairman and CEO of Bank Hapoalim, and which will determine Dankner's future. If Arison appoints a chairman who will be an independent figure of proven public and economic stature, then the central bank will be prepared to move aside and not intervene in the appointment of a CEO and may even approve the appointment of Dankner as vice chairman or chairman of the bank's credit card subsidiary Isracard Ltd., and his remaining as a director of the bank on Arison's behalf.
If the new chairman is less than the undefined ideal of the Bank of Israel, the appointment of a CEO for Bank Hapoalim, even after a search committee, will be under the tight supervision of Fischer and Hizkiyahu, and Dankner will not be able to stay on as a director at the bank or at one of its subsidiaries.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 13, 2009
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