Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2023
Criticism over profits, deposit rates, and customer service
Bank Hapoalim and other large Israeli banks faced criticism from regulators and customers after reporting strong profits while savers argued that deposit remuneration had not kept pace with increases in lending rates and the cost of living.
2020
U.S. tax-evasion and FIFA money-laundering cases
Bank Hapoalim pleaded guilty to helping U.S. taxpayers conceal assets in Swiss and Israeli accounts and to laundering more than $20 million in bribes and kickbacks linked to FIFA corruption. The combined U.S. resolution involved penalties and forfeitures exceeding $900 million (approximately US$874 million in settlement payments). Bank Hapoalim pleaded guilty in the United States to helping US taxpayers conceal assets in Swiss and Israeli accounts and to laundering bribes and kickbacks connected with corrupt FIFA officials. The case resulted in penalties and forfeitures exceeding $900 million in total.
2020
Alleged financial links to Israeli settlements
The bank was included in a United Nations database concerning companies described as supporting settlement activity in occupied territories. Pension funds and other investors in Denmark and Norway subsequently restricted or divested from the bank over the alleged links.
2020
United States tax-evasion and football-governance bribery case
United States authorities said Bank Hapoalim employees and managers helped certain customers evade United States taxes and separately facilitated improper payments involving FIFA and CONMEBOL officials. The bank entered settlements totaling approximately US$874 million and undertook compliance-related remedial measures.
2020
Settlement and investment exclusions related to Israeli settlements
The bank was named by the United Nations in a database of companies associated with economic activity supporting Israeli settlements in occupied territories. Earlier and later actions by pension and investment institutions included blacklisting or divestment decisions citing alleged settlement-related banking and financing links.
2020
Bank Hapoalim fined $904 million in U.S. cases
Fine or penalty
Bank Hapoalim settled cases brought by U.S. authorities concerning assistance to U.S.-based clients evading taxes and involvement in a FIFA-related bribery affair. It was ordered to pay a total of $904 million.
Source excerpt
Israel’s Bank Hapoalim has settled a case brought against it by U.S. authorities for assisting U.S.-based clients to evade taxes and involvement in a bribery affair that shook FIFA, the world soccer federation.
Under the deal seeking to settle claims addressing actions between 2002 and 2014, Israel’s biggest bank was ordered to pay an overall fine of $904 million: $874.3 million to settle the tax-evasion claims and $30 million for its involvement in the FIFA scandal.