The Knesset Finance Committee today approved the sale of the government's remaining stake in Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI). The Ministry of Finance is now waiting for the right time to make the sale. The Finance Committee classified committee, which deals with sensitive issues, will have to approve the final deal in advance.
MI Holdings (State of Israel Properties) owns 11.46% of Bank Leumi. 1.1% of the bank's shares will be allotted to its employees, and the government will sell the rest. The state's stake in the bank, excluding the shares set aside for the bank's employees, is currently worth about NIS 2.9 billion.
Earlier, the Bank Leumi's workers committee slammed Ministry of Finance officials and bank executives. During the Finance Committee meeting, workers committee chairwoman Miri Rubino threatened to call a strike. "The bank's management and the Ministry of Finance defrauded us," she said. "It seems that we'll have to show the bank's management what a closed bank looks like. That day is not far off."
Bank Leumi's workers committee claims that the bank's management has not met with it for organized negotiations on the privatization of the bank. The workers committee feels that the privatization is being carried out behind its back and without its full consent.
During the discussion, Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) expressed surprise that Bank Leumi's management had not sent a representative to the meeting. "I was sure that some bank executive would come. We're talking about the future of Bank Leumi," he said. He demanded clarifications from the bank on the status of its employees after the privatization.
Bank Leumi is headed by president and CEO Galia Maor.
Bank Leumi's share price fell 0.2% in morning trading to NIS 11.71, giving a market cap of NIS 25.27 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 3, 2010
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