Isracard cancels acquisition of Nir Zuk’s Esh Bank

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Six months after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire Israeli digital bank Esh, credit card company Isracard (ISCD) has announced that it will not be moving forward with the deal after talks have broken down.

In a notification to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Isracard said that the MOU signed with Esh Bank had expired without a final agreement and would not be extended. This has in effect meant the collapse of the deal, in which Isracard was supposed to acquire the digital bank, at a value of up to NIS 500 million.

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The MOU signed in March set that Isracard, controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group, would pay NIS 250 million for shares in the deal, and later, according to terms to be determined between the parties, would pay an additional NIS 150 million. It was also agreed that under certain conditions, an additional NIS 100 million could be paid for the shares of Esh Bank.

The deal was supposed to bring Isracard closer to holding banking operations and give it a foothold in preparation for the reform that would allow the establishment of a "lean bank" in Israel, and which is on track to complete regulation and legislation in the coming year.

Now Esh Bank, led by chairman Prof. Shmuel Hauser and CEO Kobi Malkin, will remain independent. Its founders, including Nir Zuk, Alon Shine, Clal Insurance, Yuval Aloni, Alex Liverant and Shiri Raanan, launched the operation only last September, three years after receiving a conditional license for its establishment from the Bank of Israel.

Esh Bank has developed its own banking operating system, and its executives have presented an innovative model in which the bank will share half of the income it generates with its customers' money, and deposit it in their accounts. Esh Bank has also developed a model in which no fees are charged on current accounts, compared with a cost of NIS 10-50 per month at other banks in Israel. There is a guaranteed interest rate on all accounts at Esh Bank, which is the same for all customers.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 19, 2026.