Roy Vermus leaves Psagot

Vermus, who leaves under a plea bargain with the Securities Authority, turned Psagot into Israel's biggest investment house.

5 December 10 16:01, Eran Peer

Roy Vermus today ended his job as CEO of Psagot Investment House Ltd., four days after the High Court of Justice dismissed his petition for an injunction against his termination. He has been replaced by Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL) deputy CEO Ronen Tov, who will take up his new post on January 1.

Psagot CFO Shlomo Pasha will serve as acting CFO of Israel's largest investment house during the interim. Apax Partners controls Psagot.

Vermus was forced to leave Psagot as part of the plea bargain between Israel Securities Authority chairman Zohar Goshen and State Prosecutor Moshe Lador with Apax Israel CEO Zehavit Cohen. In exchange for closing the criminal case against Psagot for securities running, Psagot will pay a NIS 150 million fine and Vermus, suspected of involvement in the scheme, has to leave the company by the end of the year. The plea bargain will only come into effect when Vermus leaves the company.

Vermus was considered a talented and successful CEO. He took up the post at Psagot four years ago, replacing Gabriella Ravid, who was also forced out as the result of a Securities Authority investigation. During Vermus's tenure, Psagot, owned by York Capital Management LLC during this period, became Israel's largest investment house. Through rapid organic growth, the acquisition of provident funds from Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) and Prisma Investment House, and old pension funds from the Ministry of Finance, Psagot reached NIS 150 billion in assets under management, more than twice as much as Israel's second largest investment house.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 5, 2010

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