The main debt of Lev Leviev's privately held company Memorand is to Bank Hapoalim.
From data that have reached "Globes" it emerges that Lev Leviev's debts to the banks, through his privately held company Memorand, amount to NIS 3.1 billion. The debts are backed by a personal guarantee from Leviev, by the Africa-Israel Investments (TASE: AFIL) shares he owns, and specific external collateral. All the banks are exposed to Leviev to some extent.
The main exposure is at Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI). Leviev's debt to the bank is estimated at NIS 2 billion. This debt is backed by 46% of the shares in Africa-Israel and a real estate project in Russia. The exposure of Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) is NIS 400 million, small compared with Leumi's relative size in Israel's banking system. Leumi received as collateral a lien on 9% of the share sin Africa-Israel. Israel Discount Bank's (TASE: DSCT) exposure to Memorand is NIS 350 million, against which it has a lien on 8% of the shares in Africa-Israel. Memorand owes some NIS 150 million to Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF) and NIS 200 million to First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN1;FTIN5). First International has already made a provision against these debts. It has a lien on 6% of the share sin Africa-Israel, while Mizrahi Tefahot has a lien on 5%.
Africa-Israel itself has a debt of NIS 500 million to the banks, most of it to Hapoalim, which has provided NIS 300 million against the debt in previous quarters, and is expected to make further a further provision in the current quarter.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 28, 2009
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