Bank Hapoalim BM reported first-quarter net profit attributed to shareholders of 628 million Israeli shekels, down from 767 million shekels in the prior-year period.
EPS for the quarter was 47 agorot, compared to 58 agorot a year earlier. Excluding 60 million shekels in provisions relating to a U.S. investigation into tax evasion, Bank Hapoalim's first-quarter net profit amounted to 688 million shekels.
Net interest income rose year over year to 2.16 billion shekels from 2.07 billion shekels. Noninterest income ticked up to more than 1.53 billion shekels from just below 1.53 billion shekels, with income from fees declining to 1.28 billion shekels from 1.30 billion shekels.
The Israeli lender booked a provision for credit losses of 250 million shekels in the quarter, compared to the year-ago 107 million shekels.
Return on equity was 7.2%, compared to 9.2% year over year. Excluding the provisions in respect of the U.S. investigation, ROE would have reached 7.9%.
The lender's common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 11.05% at the end of March 31, compared to 11.26% at the end of 2017.
The bank will distribute a dividend of 251 million shekels for the first quarter, representing a payout ratio of 40%.
As of May 23, US$1 was equivalent to 3.57 Israeli shekels.
