Union Bank of Israel

Union Bank of Israel was acquired by Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot in 2019 and no longer operates as an independent entity. Investment decisions are now made within Mizrahi-Tefahot's structure, led by CEO Moshe Lary and the bank's credit and investment committees. Prior to the acquisition, Union Bank's credit and investment decisions were overseen by the board of directors, chaired by David Friedman.

Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot acquired 100% of Union Bank of Israel in January 2019 for approximately ILS 1.4 billion from the Shlomo Eliyahu group and other shareholders. Union Bank was subsequently delisted from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and fully merged into Mizrahi-Tefahot's operations. The Union Bank brand ceased to exist by early 2020, with all branches, client relationships, and assets integrated into the acquirer.

Union Bank of Israel was a publicly traded commercial bank, not a family office. It was controlled by the Shlomo Eliyahu group — an Israeli business family — prior to the 2019 acquisition, but it operated as a regulated banking corporation serving corporate, commercial real estate, and private banking clients. The family-control element was incidental to its banking license and operational structure.

Union Bank participated in syndicated lending facilities and club deals with other Israeli banks, particularly for large corporate and real estate financings. It did not operate a principal investment or co-investment platform beyond traditional credit participation. Its capital markets desk also joined underwriting syndicates for Israeli corporate bond issuances.

As a regulated Israeli bank, Union Bank's lending was funded primarily through customer deposits, interbank borrowing, and its capital base. Prior to the acquisition, Union Bank held a deposit base of roughly ILS 12 billion, concentrated among mid-sized corporates and high-net-worth individuals in central Israel (per public record).

There is no public record of a standalone philanthropic foundation operated directly by Union Bank of Israel. Any charitable activity attributed to the bank's former controlling shareholder, the Shlomo Eliyahu group, would have been conducted through the family's private vehicles rather than through the bank's corporate structure.

Union Asset Management, the bank's mutual fund and portfolio management arm, was included in the 2019 acquisition by Mizrahi-Tefahot and subsequently merged into the acquirer's investment management operations. Client portfolios were transferred, and the standalone Union Bank mutual funds were rebranded under Mizrahi-Tefahot's product family.