Banks Halt Search for New Association CEO

Following yesterday's (Monday) report by Globes regarding the Competition Authority's intervention in the banking system's attempt to replace Association of Banks CEO Eitan Madmon, it has emerged that bank heads are halting the search for a new CEO.

We reported yesterday that the Competition Authority approached the chairmen of major banks requesting their correspondence. Senior bank officials had attempted to initiate a behind-the-scenes process to dismiss Madmon. It was previously revealed that the banks intended to replace the Association CEO due to dissatisfaction with his conduct toward the Ministry of Finance regarding the windfall tax.

The intention to replace him had been circulating for several weeks but was inadvertently revealed in a WhatsApp group correspondence among bank chairmen. The Competition Authority is currently investigating whether the coordination between the system's heads complied with legal requirements.

The Association of Banks operates as a non-profit organization whose primary goal is to promote the interests of the banking sector in Israel. Its activities focus on regulation and representing banks before various government institutions.

Eitan Madmon (former CEO of Globes) has served as the Association's CEO since 2019. Membership in the Association involves annual payments of millions of shekels from each bank. Recently, a special tax of 3 billion shekels was imposed on the banks, officially intended to help cover the deficit and finance war expenses. In practice, the tax was motivated by the high profitability of banks during the era of high interest rates. Although the tax was cut in half from the original plan, it remains a point of contention with the current CEO.

The banks aim to recruit a CEO by the end of the year with legal experience, familiarity with regulation and communications, and financial acumen.

The Association of Banks stated: "No comment."