News
Hapoalim - "Home" for Financial High-Tech Companies in Israel.
Bank Hapoalim and Poalim Capital Markets launch an invest platform in technology companies in the financial field (FinTech)
Tel Aviv, Israel February 21, 2012 - The Bank Hapoalim Group - through an alliance between the Bank and Poalim Capital Markets - is initiating a FinTech Fund, the first of its kind in Israel. This unique dedication to investment in financial high-tech companies will turn Bank Hapoalim into the "home" for technology companies that specialize in development of products for the financial sector. Over the next 3-5 years, the Fund will allocate around NIS 80 million for investment in FinTech companies.
In recent years we have witnessed the global trend of technology becoming an important element in the creation of leadership and innovation while enabling the maximization of operational efficiency. Over the last decade, Israel wisely exploited this trend and turned itself into an important global center in the field of financial high-tech. During this period, many companies specializing in the development of technology products for the financial sector were set up in Israel, and achieved international success. Bank Hapoalim's innovative project is intended to promote the ongoing development of financial high-tech in Israel, while leveraging Bank Hapoalim's status as the leading financial institution in Israel.
Yair Seroussi, Chairman of the Board of Bank Hapoalim, says: "In the last two decades, the high-tech sector has led the Israeli economy to impressive growth. Within this sector, FinTech stands out and has made Israel into an international center of knowledge and development that has led over the years to the creation of innovative projects. The willingness of Israel's financial sector, headed by the banks, to adopt and promote technological innovations, supports FinTech development. Bank Hapoalim aspires to keep its leadership position of promoting and cultivating the high-tech sector in Israel, while encouraging innovative high-tech initiatives in the financial field."
Zion Kenan, CEO of Bank Hapoalim, said: "This move brings together the finest minds in the fields of banking and technology to create a future for financial high-tech. Our main objective is to harness technological innovations on behalf of the range and quality of services we provide our clients. Besides the quality of our personal banking service, the technological advantage becomes an important element in realizing the vision of financial freedom. The fact that Bank Hapoalim's clients are connected more than others to direct and advanced services, via the internet and their cellular phones, is based on technology advances that gained international recognition. The new Fund will help us to continue investing and developing such technology projects while working in partnership with and supporting high-tech and FinTech in Israel."
Partners to the initiative to create the Fund are the Strategic Division of Bank Hapoalim, headed by Deputy CEO Arik Pinto, the Technology and Computer Division, headed by Deputy CEO Zvika Naggan, Poalim Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of the Bank, headed by CEO Amir Aviv. Poalim Capital Markets, which has extensive experience in private equity including venture capital funds and in principal investments in technology companies, including in the field of FinTech, will lead the equity investment activities within the framework of the project.
The establishment of the new Fund will allow the Bank to launch and provide its clients with FinTech services and products in the forefront of banking technology. At the same time, FinTech entrepreneurs and companies will gain support for their product development process, from both the business and technology implementation aspects of trying and testing their products in tandem with the Bank's systems. In this way, both sides will enjoy the benefits of the cooperation: the Bank will be exposed to new technologies and retain its technology leadership, and the companies will be able to benefit from the business and technological know-how accrued by the Bank, with the chance to get exposure to end-users.
A joint team drawn from the Technology and Computer Division, the Strategic Division and the relevant Business Units at the Bank, together with Poalim Capital Markets, will evaluate companies developing technologies that the Bank considers of interest. Those companies found to be attractive will be able to take the development of their products forward with the assistance of trials and installation in the Bank's systems. In parallel, some of them will also be awarded an investment by the Fund, providing they meet certain other relevant criteria.
The primary objective of the initiative is to locate innovative technologies that will serve the Bank's clients. The Fund will make equity investments subject also to the assessment of the project's financial potential by Poalim Capital Markets.
The fund will focus on investing in companies that are in earlier stages, after or together with investment by a leading VC fund in the company. It is estimated that the fund will be involved in 15-20 technological projects at various stages of development.
For the past few years Bank Hapoalim's Technology and Computer Division have been carrying out a strategy of trying out new technologies in order to develop and maintain Bank Hapoalim's technological advantage. Among the technologies installed are StoreWiz (data storage compression solutions), WizSupport (implementation of technology to manage the Bank's online chat service on “Poalim Connect”), Diligent (technology for reducing the amount of space needed for storage and back-up solutions), Actimize (data analysis to prevent money laundering and fraud) and others.
