The Knesset Economics Committee has approved for the second and third reading the bill which would allow Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) to sell credit card company ICC Cal directly to an institutional body. The bill will change the existing situation in which any institutional body wanting to acquire a credit card company can only do so from a third party as happened with the acquisition of MAX by Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings (TASE: CLIS).
In 2017, the Strum Law required that the large banks and credit card companies be separated as were Bank Leumi (TASE:LUMI) and Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) from their credit card companies. However, it was decided to examine splitting ICC Cal from Discount separately, mainly due to competition considerations. In January 2023, it was decided that Discount should also be separated from ICC which it controls, when Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich adopted the recommendations of the committee that examined the issue.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 11, 2024.
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