Bank Hapoalim chairman to step down in 2 months
Dan Dankner submits resignation to board of directors, ending drawn-out battle with banking regulator. Vice Chairman Seroussi slated as his successor
Bank Hapoalim Chairman Dan Dankner submitted his resignation on Monday, ending a more than two-month battle with the banking regulator who had demanded he step down.
Dankner told a meeting of Hapoalim's board of directors he was resigning, but at the bank's request he agreed to stay on for two months.
Yair Seroussi will become vice chairman, with the intention that he would take over as chairman when Dankner leaves, Israel's second-largest bank said in a statement.
Seroussi chairs the investment committee of Israeli pension fund Mivtachim and serves as a director of several major Israeli companies.
The Bank of Israel has approved in principle Seroussi's appointment but still needs to give its final OK.
Dankner cited differences with the Bank of Israel for stepping down.
Following the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Zvi Ziv in late March, Hapoalim's board immediately named Deputy CEO Zion Kenan to succeed Ziv. Ziv said he was resigning because of differences with Dankner.
The central bank believed the Hapoalim board acted hastily and forced the bank to set up a search committee for a new CEO. It also sought Dankner's resignation.
Ziv will step down in 10 days and Kenan will become acting CEO, according to Hapoalim's statement.
Hapoalim, which until recently had been Israel's biggest lender, is controlled by Shari Arison, heiress to the Carnival Corp cruise line fortune.
"In light of Dan Dankner's request to resign, I acted to find a solution that would respect all sides, for the good of the bank and its clients," Arison said in a separate statement.
She said Dankner would remain a director of Hapoalim until the end of 2009 and afterward would continue to serve as director of the bank's subsidiary in Switzerland.
The Bank of Israel said its main goal was to strengthen Hapoalim and its management.
"The Bank of Israel's job ... is to ensure the stability of Israel's banking system, to strengthen it and preserve the public's confidence in it," the central bank said.
