Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Reports Stable Net Profit Despite Special Tax on Banks

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, led by Moshe Lari, reported its second-quarter financial results as the fifth among Israel's five largest banks. The bank posted a net profit of 1.43 billion shekels for the quarter, marking a slight decline of 1.6% compared to the same period last year. Return on equity (ROE) dropped to 16% from 17.8% in the previous year's second quarter, partly due to a special tax imposed on the major banks by the Ministry of Finance.

For the first half of the year, the net profit attributable to shareholders totaled 2.67 billion shekels, a 2.7% decrease from the corresponding period in 2022. The ROE for the first six months was 15%, down from 17% a year earlier. The special tax on the five largest banks amounted to a combined 3 billion shekels this year, with each bank required to allocate its share. There is a possibility of tax adjustments in the final quarter if excess provisions were made.

Mizrahi Tefahot's market capitalization currently stands at approximately 61 billion shekels, ranking it third in the Israeli banking sector behind Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim. Over the past year, the bank's stock price increased by 13%.