Another year and another bumper set of results from Bank Leumi, with net profits up 63% to 1.9bn Israeli shekels ($414m). This follows the 171% leap in profits in 2003 to 1.1bn shekels. The rise in profits flowed through to the ROE, at 13.1% in 2004 compared to 8.7% a year before.
The momentum is evident in other measures. Bank Leumi’s cost-to-income ratio has fallen to 56.1%, from 59.4% the year before and 65.5% in 2000. The bank was also able to slash its NPL ratio from 21% to 12.3% in 2004.
The results are on the back of multi-year strategy designed to increase the activity and profitability of the bank’s domestic and international operations while controlling risk. In four years, the bank’s net interest income is up 28%, well above the market, while costs have been shrunk.
In 2004, Bank Leumi’s achieved the highest net operating profit among the five large banking groups in Israel and the highest yield on net operating profit. The bank’s efficiency ratio was also the best of the big five.
