TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Bank Hapoalim (TASE:POLI) (LSE:BKHD) (Pink Sheets:BKHYY) has approved the 2010-2012 work plan submitted by the Board of Management, citing the ongoing improvement in the global economy and the Israeli economy's recovery and return to growth.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Yair Seroussi commented: "2009 was a turning point for the global economy, the Israeli economy, and Bank Hapoalim. At the beginning of 2009, the global recession and financial crisis were still at their peak, but by mid-year, economic growth had resumed in many countries, though at lower rates than before the crisis. Israel was one of the countries where the impact of the crisis was relatively minor, thanks to the government's prudent fiscal policy, the monetary leadership of the Bank of Israel, and a robust, conservative banking system.
"All of these factors enabled the Israeli economy to start 2010 on a positive note. Of course, we are aware of the remaining risks in the financial systems in the United States and in most European countries, and we recognize that full employment in the developed countries is still a long way off. For all of these reasons, we believe it is prudent to maintain a cautious and conservative business policy.
"Bank Hapoalim returned to profitability in 2009 despite the complicated macro-economic factors. At the same time, we have substantially reinforced the bank's capital base. Equally important, over the past year we appointed a strong, new management team to lead the bank, which I am confident, will successfully execute the bank's strategy.
"For us, 2010 is a year in which we return to a trajectory of growing revenues and improving profitability. This year, we will continue to strengthen our leadership in retail and corporate banking in Israel; stand by our customers and help them grow; focus our international operations and continue to build the infrastructure for future growth; maintain the bank's level of capital adequacy above the regulatory requirement; and devote special attention to risk management.
"The human capital of the bank - its employees - is the bank's powerful foundation and the key to its success. We are proud that Bank Hapoalim has been voted one of the employers of choice in Israel year after year and proud to be the leader in the financial sector in this important area as well.
"Our strategic plan balances risk and returns considerations, and is aimed at achieving, in the long term, sustainable ROE levels in the low to mid-teens.
"I am certain that the implementation of our three-year strategic plan will enable the bank to solidify its leadership in Israeli banking, leverage the internal growth drivers available within the Group, and create the necessary infrastructures for continued growth going forward.
"In addition to our business activities, we remain committed to leading the financial sector in 2010 in the area of corporate social responsibility, transparency, and contribution to the community."
Bank Hapoalim CEO Zion Kenan said: "Over the next three years, we will move ahead with the momentum initiated over the last year. We will take focused, resolute action to solidify and strengthen our leadership in the retail sector. This will include the continued growth of our advanced branch network in response to our customers' needs, with new branches in a variety of formats tailored to different segments of the population, taking into account the demographic shifts in the Israeli population. We will continue to improve customer service, making use of new technologies, with special emphasis on providing advisory services, strengthening long-term saving habits, and increasing our market share in mortgages with a focus on customers of the bank.
"In the corporate sector, we will continue to lead in services provided to major corporations and business organizations in Israel. Bank Hapoalim is proud to be the preferred banking partner for the vast majority of large Israeli firms. We intend to continue to develop these relationships, offering our large corporate clients a comprehensive package of tailored services and products and providing optimal solutions that address our clients' needs.
"We also plan to take our activity to the next level in the middle market business sector, which is an important component of the backbone of the Israeli economy; we see potential for significant expansion of the bank's business in this area, based, among other factors, on the new infrastructure of business branches, which we will continue to grow over the coming years.
"In the international arena, we will work to develop our global private banking business, based at Bank Hapoalim Switzerland, while adapting our activities to changing global regulations. We will strengthen our private banking operations in London and New York, provide comprehensive services to Israeli customers in these locations, and develop focused activities with local mid-sized business clients, while continuing to develop and invest in infrastructures for the future expansion of our international activities.
"Improved cost management and operational excellence will remain key strategic objectives for the bank. We will ensure that revenue growth is higher than the growth rate of expenses, and that the bank's operational efficiency ratio improves over the period of the work plan. The push towards operational excellence will enable the bank to utilize available resources to fuel new initiatives, including the establishment of new branches and expansion of the sales and customer service systems. We will continue to streamline work processes at our branches and at head office, emphasizing the development and expansion of our central back office, the first of its kind in the Israeli banking system, with the goal of progressively increasing the number of non-customer interfacing activities handled by the back office. Likewise, we will continue to implement advanced purchasing processes in order to achieve savings on current costs
"The bank is committed to the implementation of the principle of sustainability, both as part of its overall corporate social responsibility commitment and based on an understanding of the economic potential inherent in the realization of this principle.
"Finally, we will place special emphasis on the continued cultivation of the bank's human capital. Our employees are our most important asset, which we will continue to protect and nurture. We are proud of the excellent labor relations at the bank and of the cooperation between management and the employees' union, which have always been, and will remain, one of the notable advantages of Bank Hapoalim."
About Bank Hapoalim
Bank Hapoalim is Israel's leading financial group. In Israel, Bank Hapoalim has over 260 full-service branches, focusing on households, professionals, small businesses and mortgage banking; eight regional business centers, and industry desks for major corporate customers.
Internationally, Bank Hapoalim operates through 44 branches, subsidiaries and representative offices, in North and Latin America, Europe, the Far East, Turkey and Australia. In these markets, the Bank is engaged in trade, corporate finance, private banking and retail banking.
The Bank Hapoalim Group includes financial companies involved in investment banking, credit cards, trust services and portfolio management. The Group also has holdings in non-banking sectors.
Bank Hapoalim is the only Israeli Bank listed on both the Tel Aviv and London Stock Exchange. In addition, a Level-1 ADR (BKHYY) is traded "over-the -counter" in New York.