Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) released its third quarter financials today, and reported an 18% decline in net profit to NIS 765 million from NIS 936 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018. For the first nine months of 2019, Bank Leumi posted a profit of NIS 2.78 billion, which compares with NIS 2.56 billion for the first nine months of 2018, representing a rise of 18%.
Interest income in the third quarter totaled NIS 2.09 billion, down from NIS 2.19 billion in the corresponding quarter. The Leumi group's net interest income, adjusted for the sale of Leumi Card, rose by NIS 287 million, or 4.5%, in the first nine months of 2019 in comparison with the corresponding period of 2018. The rise in net interest income is mainly attributed to growth in the average balance of credit to the public and a rise in the return on interest-bearing assets.
The bank's return on equity in the first nine months of 2019 was 10.4%, which compares with 10.2$ in the corresponding period of 2018. Excluding the effect of Leumi Card, return on equity was 9.6%, similar to the return in the corresponding period. In the third quarter, return on equity was 8.7%, which compares with 11.2% in the corresponding quarter.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 26, 2019