October 6, 2016 – Bank Hapoalim , Israel’s largest bank, said today it would provision another US$70 million in the third quarter regarding a U.S. investigation into tax evasion by the bank’s U.S. clients.
This could have “a significant impact” on the bank’s third quarter results, it said in a statement.
The US$70 million would be in addition to the US$50 million Hapoalim has already set aside for this matter, in which U.S. authorities are probing whether it helped American clients evade U.S. taxes at its Swiss unit.
The provision follows a meeting Hapoalim representatives had with member of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sept. 30 regarding a settlement between the two sides.
Hapoalim, which has denied the allegations, has handed over most of the information that was requested by the DOJ and New York State officials.
Its main domestic rival Leumi paid US$400 million in fines in late 2014 to settle two separate investigations into whether it helped U.S. clients evade taxes.