At the end of 2022, Nir Zuk, the founder of Palo Alto Networks, noted the issuance of a license for a new digital bank from the Israeli Bank Esh Bank, in which he is a shareholder. Founded by three young technicians with no financial experience, the bank hired Shmuel Hauser, the former chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, and HayHayal Kobi Malkin, the former CEO of Bank Massad and Bank Otsar, and set out with the promise of revolutionizing the banking market in Israel and beyond. .
The bank said it will do this through technological development that will replace all existing banking information systems, making the bank leaner and more automated with the lowest fees in the market. According to the original plan, the bank was not supposed to employ more than 150 people when it opened in 2025. The opening of the bank to the public may be delayed, however, if the war drags on until next year. The company believes that as long as people’s attention is focused on war, there is no better time to launch a new consumer brand. The bank has three years from the date of license in December 2022 to start commercial operations.
An ambitious goal
Since the day the license was issued, the bank has gone under the radar and the management has been silent. Its website was last updated in August 2023 by Nadine Baudot Trajtenberg, former deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Shmuel Hauser, Dr. Kira Radinsky, Prof. Noted the appointment of Dan Galai and Esther Levanon to the board of directors. .
Banking industry sources say that Esh has set an ambitious goal: to develop all data systems from scratch, including the heavy core systems and loan underwriting systems he is still working on. Another goal is the presentation of three products at the same time: deposits and current accounts; payments; and credit cards. Therefore, the launch will take place only when all three products are sufficiently ready.
Sources told Globus that since the new bank was announced two years ago, about 100 employees have been hired by two companies: Bank Esh and Esh OS (operating systems). Both are owned by the same shareholders: Nir Zuk, Clal Insurance and founders Yuval Aloni and Alex Liverant.
Most of the staff are at Esh OS, the tech company behind the venture, which reflects the bank’s intention to employ as few people as possible, and most banking operations are automated. The plan is for Esh OS to sell the systems it develops to third parties.
Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – published on September 11, 2024.
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