When it comes to customer trust, banks’ profits are working against them

Over the past year, banks have stepped up their image efforts and showered their services with pleasant and entertaining advertisements, but the Globes brand index reveals a painful truth: the public sees and remembers, but prefers to forget. Banks are positioned in the middle of the overall brand ranking, from places 176 (Leumi) and 178 (Hapoalim) to place 316 (Jerusalem Bank). The public may enjoy the ads, but is left with the mortgage.

Alongside the banks’ placement in the brand index, it appeared that all the stars began to align against the banks in Israel — commercially and, just as importantly, in terms of image. The large banks may not suffer from an excess of public affection (and therefore recruit celebrities to improve their image), but they are usually comforted by high profitability that satisfies shareholders.

But they saw how the interest-rate environment that had been a favorite for them over the past two years was starting to lose altitude, and at the same time they faced Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s intention to enact a law imposing additional taxation on banks’ profits. In the end, a compromise was reached whereby an enormous tax of 3 billion shekels would be collected this year, to be transferred to the state treasury and help reduce the large deficit due to the war. Next year, a smaller tax of 125 million shekels would be collected, and in return the additional taxation programs would be canceled.

Bank Rankings

1. Bank Leumi (176 in the overall ranking)

2. Bank Hapoalim (178 in the overall ranking)

3. Bank Discount (195 in the overall ranking)

4. Mizrahi Tefahot (227 in the overall ranking)

5. The International Bank (246 in the overall ranking)

6. Bank Yahav (283 in the overall ranking)

7. Bank Otzar Hahayal (295 in the overall ranking)

8. Bank ONE ZERO (315 in the overall ranking)

9. Jerusalem Bank (316 in the overall ranking)

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The effectiveness of advertising and branding

At the top of the category, as noted, are the two largest banks — Leumi under the management of Hanan Fridman and Hapoalim under the management of Yadin Entabi. After them are Discount under the management of Avi Levi (195) and Mizrahi Tefahot under the management of Moshe Lari (227). Discount’s higher placement compared to Mizrahi Tefahot can apparently indicate higher effectiveness of advertising and branding, even though both banks make major efforts. The International Bank under the management of Eli Cohen was pushed back only slightly to place 246, despite being the smallest among the five largest banks, and one can assume that its advertising budgets are more modest.

The next two banks in the brand index are relatively surprising names: Bank Yahav under the management of Avshalom Buskila and Bank Otzar Hahayal (places 283 and 295). Although the placement does not appear particularly high, they overtook the digital bank ONE ZERO under the management of Eyal Gafni (315) and Jerusalem Bank under the management of Yair Kaplan (316).

The last two hold advertising activity and an additional advantage as well — ONE ZERO is a digital bank considered “relatively young,” and Jerusalem Bank focuses on a variety of retail services. Customers of other banks can also deposit with it and take out mortgages there. Therefore, the last place in the index is somewhat surprising.

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The public image of the banks has weakened

In general, proper branding of the banks, despite all efforts, succeeds only to a limited extent in sweetening the bitter pill for investors. On the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the banks index became, at least in the first months of 2026, more attractive and began to lag behind the flagship index (TA-35). If the TA-35 index rose by 65% within a year (through the end of May), the banks index rose by only 24%.

Still, there is no need to wipe away tears: the five largest banks recorded a net profit of 7 billion shekels only in the first three quarters of the year; admittedly, a 7% erosion within a year, but still a staggering amount that at the beginning of the decade was the annual profit of all five of them.

In short, the two largest banks — Leumi and Hapoalim — win at the image level. The budgets work, and it should be remembered that at Hapoalim it is a double challenge, since there has been a dispute with the employees in high tones there since September of last year — not an issue that contributes to the image.

How do you explain the gap between memory and the heart? Easily: the banks have difficulty breaking through because the public feels them in their pocket. The stinginess in interest on deposits and the high interest on loans ultimately burn the emotions. And yet, it is possible that in the coming years we will see a turnaround. A new reform of small banks may bring in more banks and increase competition. If the increased competition works properly and the public’s situation in the current account improves, then maybe — and only maybe — the advertisements will also make it into the heart.