United Bank of Israel Limited (Hebrew :בנק אגוד לישראל); TASE: UNON), better known by its Hebrew name Bank Igud, is the sixth largest bank in Israel with 30 branches across the country.
In September 2020, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot acquired all the shares of Bank Igud, so legally, as of October 1, 2020, Igud Bank ceases to exist as a public company and becomes a subsidiary of Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot. Mizrahi appointed 4 directors to the bank's board of directors and appointed Moshe Levi to replace Zeev Aviel as chairperson of the board. By November 15, 2022, all Igud Bank customers were transferred to Mizrahi-Tefahot. On December 31, 2022, the merger process was fully completed and "Igud" ceased to exist as one entity.
History
Bank Igud was founded in 1951 by the Israel Economics Corporation in New York and the Palestine Society in London. This continues the banking operations of the Palestine Society, which has been active on Israeli soil since 1922. In April 1954, Bank Leumi acquired a majority stake in the Palestine Society, resulting in Bank Igud becoming jointly owned by Bank Leumi and Economy Corporation. In March 1958, a merger with Feuchtwanger Bank was proposed, but negotiations failed and the merger did not take place. In 1961, Bank Leumi purchased the remaining shares, taking full ownership of Bank Igud.
In 2014, Bank Igud held about 3% of the market share in the Israeli banking system, focusing on the business activities of high earners.
A unique industry in which the bank operates is the diamond industry. When the Diamond Exchange was established, diamond trading also took place in the building where the Tel Aviv Bank office was located, thus establishing a link between the department and the bank. The bank's market share in the diamond industry is around 22%, significantly higher than its relative share in the general banking market. As part of the merger process with Mizrahi Bank, the bank's credit portfolio in the diamond sector was sold to the "Peninsula" company.
