Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) reported its first quarter results for 2026 today. Net profit was NIS 930 million, down 10% from the corresponding quarter of 2025, mainly due to the new surtax on profit. The bank will distribute a dividend of NIS 465 million - 50% of net profit. The bank also announced that it would be reducing its workforce by 600 during 2026.
Discount Bank's return on equity fell to 10.9% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 13% in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The main reason was also the special tax imposed by the Ministry of Finance on the big banks. But even after neutralizing it along with certain other components, the return on equity stood at 12.2%, compared with 13.7% last year.
Credit to the public (net) amounted to NIS 295 billion at the end of the first quarter, up 2.2% from the corresponding quarter. Credit to businesses rose 4.2%, while credit to large businesses rose 4.3%. The bank increased its efforts to provide credit to medium-sized businesses, which rose 17.5%, while credit to small and micro businesses fell 3%. Credit to households (excluding housing loans), fell 1% was recorded, while mortgages rose 1.5%.
600 layoffs
Discount Bank CEO Avi Levi said, "As part of the 2030 strategic plan, a large-scale three-year streamlining project has been launched, aimed at reducing expenses by implementing a series of measures in the bank and the group. The project is focused on building effective processes, while leveraging technological capabilities and using AI tools, while promoting organizational measures to support improved efficiency, including through early retirement plans for full-time employees."
He added, "As part of these measures, in the first quarter, about 170 employees from the group signed retirement arrangements, of which 85 actually retired during the reporting period. In May 2026, it was decided to offer retirement arrangements to additional permanent employees, which will be possible for a fixed period of time. The aforementioned expansion of the retirement process is not expected to have a material impact on the actuarial liabilities or the business results of the Group. In the Bank's assessment, taking into account the retirements that have already been completed or agreed upon during the year in the Group, as well as the Bank's assessments of additional retirements (natural and early retirement) and the termination of employment of additional employees, the number of employees in the Group will be reduced in 2026 by about 600 employees."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 18, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
