A celebratory launch event was held at TASE, marking the distribution of Bank Hapoalim shares to customers, the first initiative of its kind in Israel
TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A celebratory launch event was held yesterday at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: TASE), marking distribution of Bank Hapoalim shares to customers who had chosen to receive them, as part of a unique program announced by the bank.
The event, opening the last TASE trading day of the Jewish year 5785, was attended by TASE CEO Ittai Ben-Zeev, Bank Hapoalim CEO Yadin Antebi, members of the bank’s board of management, bank managers and employees, and some of the participating customers of the bank.
The innovative program was introduced in late August, with over a million customers (owners of approximately 960,000 accounts) offered a choice of a monetary grant in the amount of NIS 100 or two shares of Bank Hapoalim (as of September 18, 2025, the value of the two shares was NIS 124.5). As a reminder, the shares can be sold at any time, and are exempt from fees for a period of twenty years, or until the sale of the two shares of the bank, whichever is earlier. The program is a component of the benefits granted by the bank to its customers in the third quarter of 2025, within the outline of reliefs presented by the Bank of Israel.
Of more than a million eligible customers, approximately 593,000 (owners of about 440,000 accounts) chose one of the options (a grant or the shares), of which approximately 394,000 customers (about two-thirds, owners of approximately 288,000 accounts) chose to receive two shares of Bank Hapoalim, at a value of NIS 124.5.
Eligibility for the program was initially examined at two record dates (June 30 and July 31); customers who did not meet the stated criteria, whether they were customers of other banks or of Bank Hapoalim, were offered another date (August 31) when they could qualify to receive the monetary grant or the shares. More than 35,000 customers took the opportunity to become eligible for the benefit after the program was announced.
Segmentation of the customers who chose to receive the shares reveals several interesting observations:
- About 60% of the customers who chose the shares had not previously held securities in their bank accounts.
- The average age of customers who chose to receive the shares was 46.
- The oldest customers who opted for the shares are 101 years old, while the youngest are 18 – the minimum age to qualify.
- The age group 46-55 had the highest percentage of customers who chose to receive the shares (70%), while the lowest percentage was in the age group 18-25 (58%).
- The percentage of customers who chose the shares was higher among men than among women (66% vs. 59%), while accounts jointly owned by men and women had an even higher rate (69%).
- The customers who opted for the shares live in 1,207 towns across Israel, from Metula in the farthest north to Eilat in the farthest south.
- The leading region in terms of customers choosing to receive the shares was central Israel (68%), followed by the south (65%), the Jerusalem region (63%), and the north (63%).
The shares will appear in the eligible recipients’ accounts today; eligible customers who chose the monetary grant or made no selection will receive the grant, in the amount of NIS 100, in their accounts today.
Yadin Antebi, CEO of Bank Hapoalim: “We are proud to complete the share distribution process and give shares of Bank Hapoalim to hundreds of thousands of our customers today, making them our partners on a symbolic level. This innovative program, the first of its kind in Israel, drew great interest from the capital market and the public. We will continue to introduce unique, innovative, proactive developments for our customers.”
Ittai Ben-Zeev, TASE CEO: “The bank’s initiative to distribute its shares as a gift to its customers reflects thinking ahead and a true commitment to customers, as well as genuine financial education, contributing to deeper knowledge and better exposure to the Israeli capital market for the general public. The TASE sees this program as highly important, and as a component of the increasing sophistication and development of Israel’s capital market, to the benefit of the public, the investors, and the companies themselves.”
Contact:
Orna Goren
Head of Communication and Public Relations Unit
Tel: +972 76 8160405
[email protected]
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2778030/TASE_Event.jpg
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/about-575-000-bank-hapoalim-shares-were-distributed-to-customers-of-the-bank-302562355.html
SOURCE Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd
