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Israel Discount Bank reported a record net income of $4.3 billion for the fiscal year 2024, reflecting strong performance across its operations. The bank’s robust credit growth and strategic innovations have positioned it as a leader in digital banking, with InvestingPro data showing impressive revenue growth of 11% CAGR over the past five years. The market reacted negatively, with shares dropping 6.41% following the earnings announcement, though the stock maintains a strong 74% return over the past year.
Key Takeaways
- Record net income of $4.3 billion in 2024.
- Return on equity reached 42% for the group.
- Stock price fell by 6.41% post-earnings announcement.
- Dividend payout set at 30% with an additional 10% share buyback.
- Launched new digital platforms and services to drive future growth.
Company Performance
Israel Discount Bank’s performance in 2024 marked a significant milestone with a record net income of $4.3 billion. The bank maintained a strong return on equity of 42%, indicating efficient management and profitability. Despite the slight decline in net interest income, the bank achieved an 8% credit growth across all segments, showcasing its ability to expand its lending operations in a competitive market.
Financial Highlights
- Revenue: Not specified in the earnings call summary.
- Earnings per share: Not specified in the earnings call summary.
- Return on equity: 42% for the group, 16.9% for banking operations.
- Efficiency ratio: 52.1%, with a target to reduce to 43% by 2030.
- Dividend payout: 30% for Q4, with a 10% share buyback.
Market Reaction
Despite the strong financial performance, Israel Discount Bank’s stock price declined by 6.41% following the earnings announcement. The stock’s performance is now closer to its 52-week low of 1,752, compared to its high of 2,982. This decline might reflect investor concerns over the slight decline in net interest income and the overall market sentiment.
Outlook & Guidance
The bank’s strategic plan, "02/1930," aims for sustainable growth and operational efficiency. Key targets for 2030 include a minimum return on equity of 13.5%, an efficiency ratio of 43%, and a net profit of 5.2 billion NIS. The bank also plans to increase its dividend payout to 50%.
Executive Commentary
CEO Avi Levi emphasized, "We are positioning Discount Bank to be more efficient, customer-centric, and innovation-driven." This highlights the bank’s focus on enhancing customer experiences and operational efficiency. CFO Asaf Bastornak noted, "The Israeli economy is resilient, and the fundamentals are strong," reflecting confidence in the bank’s ability to navigate economic conditions.
Risks and Challenges
- Potential impact of macroeconomic conditions, such as inflation and interest rate fluctuations.
- Competitive pressures in the digital banking space.
- Challenges in achieving targeted efficiency ratios and cost reductions.
- Regulatory changes impacting the banking sector.
Q&A
During the earnings call, analysts inquired about the bank’s plans to support families impacted by conflict, to which management confirmed their commitment to the Bank of Israel’s voluntary plan. Additionally, questions were raised about the bank’s cost reduction strategy, with management expressing confidence in achieving a 50% dividend payout in the long term.
Full transcript - Israel Discount Bank Ltd (DSCT) Q4 2024:
Conference Moderator, Israel Discount Bank: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Israel Discount Bank Fourth Quarter twenty twenty four Results Conference Call. All participants are present in listen only mode. Following management’s formal presentation instructions will be given for the question and answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, 03/11/2025.
In today’s conference call, Mr. Avi Levi, CEO, will first present the 2024 and fourth quarter financial results and then review the strategic plan for 2025 to 02/1930. We recommend downloading the presentation for the financial results and the strategic plan from our website at investors.discountbank.co.il to follow along during the call. Mr. Asaf Bastornak, CFO, will then present the financial highlights for the year and the fourth quarter.
Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that forward looking statements for the respective company’s business, financial condition and results of its operations are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. Such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, product demand, pricing market acceptance, changing economic conditions risks in products and technology development and the effects of the company’s accounting policies as well as certain other risk factors, which are detailed from time to time in the company’s filings with the various security authorities. I will now hand over the call to Mr. Avi Levi. Mr.
Levi, would you like to begin, please?
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: Yes. Thank you very much, and good afternoon to everyone who joined us. Thank you for joining us today. I’m pleased to present the group’s results for 2024 along with the group’s strategic plan for 02/1930. Could you please open the first page of the financial highlights review?
I’ll start there with the first page and then move to the strategic presentation. Firstly, to begin over the past sixteen months of ongoing conflict, Israeli society and the economy has shown remarkable resilience and solidarity in overcoming challenges and sharing the burden. At discount band and across the group, our employees and management remain fully committed to supporting our customers as well as the communities in North and South. Throughout our flagship initiative, Caron Aura Beam of Light, we reached and impacted over 12,000 children and young people, making a meaningful difference in their life. Discount Bank has dedicated to standing by them in the years ahead.
We are all praying for the swift and safe return of all hostages still having captivity by Hamas terrorists. Now to the first page of the presentation. The highlights. Viscount Group delivered a robust financial results for the year, achieving a net income of $4,300,000,000 marking a record net profit for the group and a return on equity of 42%. Banking operation in Israel, comprising Discount Bank and Mercantile, recorded ROE of 16.9%, reflecting strong growth and operational resilience.
Efficiency ratio for the year stood at 52.1%, while banking activity in Israel reaching 44.1%. Credit grew by 8% accompanied by an improvement in the credit quality and meanwhile net interest margin tightened leading to zero point zero percent year on year decline in our net interest income. In light of these results, the bank has declared a dividend payout of 30% for the fourth quarter combined with our 10% share buyback program. We will distribute total of 40% of the net profit for the quarter. At this point, I would like to switch to our strategic plan for 02/1930, a different presentation.
Please move to the presentation and Slide three, please. After this presentation, I will return and provide we will return and provide further insights into our financial performance by SaaS. I will review key initiatives that will drive sustained growth, enhance shareholder return and strengthen our competitive position in the market. Before diving into the specifics of our strategic roadmap, I’ll take a moment to reflect on our transformative decade that shaped our journey and brought us to where we stand today. Over the past two years, ten years, we have undergone a profound transformation successfully executing our two five year strategic plans.
These initiatives have propelled the bank to new heights, fostering strong financial performance. From 2014 to 2024, we have achieved remarkable milestones that reflect our disciplined execution and long term strategic vision. We doubled our return on equity to 14%, improved our efficiency ratio from 78% to 52%, optimized our cost structure and significantly enhancing profitability, and quadrupled our net profit to $4,300,000,000 This decade of strong execution has built a solid foundation for the next phase of our journey. Looking ahead, we are now poised to launch our 02/1930 strategic plan focusing on expanding growth opportunities in key segments, driving further operational efficiency and ensuring sustainable value creation for our shareholders. Moving to Slide four.
Before diving into our 02/1930 goals, it’s essential to outline the key macroeconomics assumptions that form the basis of our projections. Naturally, significant deviations in these variables could impact actual outcomes. Inflation is expected to gradually moderate into the target range by mid year, stabilizing at approximately 2% to 3% over the next five years. Economic growth is expected to exceed its long term potential in short term, closing the recent output gap. Thereafter, growth is expected to stabilize at sustainable pace of 3% to 4%, reflecting resilient recovery and continued expansion.
Taking into account an inflationary environment of 2% to 3%, while we anticipate the Bank of Israel rate stabilizing at the range of 3.5% to 4.5% over the coming years. Moving to Slide five. As we embark on our 02/1930 strategic plan, Discount Bank is uniquely positioned to see new opportunities and build on strong fundamentals. A leader in digital banking, Discount Bank is widely recognized for a pioneer in digital banking excellence, consistently ranking among the top banks in consumer satisfaction surveys over the past five years. A robust IT infrastructure, our technology ecosystem is anchored by a stable, robust core banking system and the newest cloud based CRM platform.
Market leadership in client acquisition. We continue to lead in attracting customers in high growth segments, including young professionals and students, the Arab community and the Orthodox Jewish population. The new campus serves as more than just physical space. It is a catalyst for cultural transformation, fostering the spirit of engagement, collaboration and innovation. This marks a fundamental shift in the DNA of the bank, laying the groundwork for more dynamic and forward thinking organization.
Furthermore, DISCOMBANK is uniquely positioned to drive strategic disruption. It possesses the agility to innovate while also maintaining the strength and ability needed to industry wide transformation. This balance ensures that the bank remains in the forefront of the financial evolution, shaping the future of banking in Israel. Slide 60. We have embraced the board mission to lead the future of banking in Israel.
To fulfill this vision, we will execute our strong strategy through three core pillars, each designed to drive sustainable growth, enhance customer experience and strengthen our market position. This can bank solo focusing on sustainable growth and operational efficiency. The Challenger Group, disruptive and innovative, a disruptive force designed to reshape the industry by leveraging non banking initiatives, fintech innovation and embedded financial services, this group will drive market expansion, particularly in the household and small businesses segment. Group subsidiary, specialization and synergy. The third pillar focuses on our subsidiaries, each excelling within respective domain, while collaborating to create synergies across the group.
By enhancing cross business integration, we will unlock new revenue streams, improve customer offerings and optimize overall performance. I’ll go on a quick review on each of these strategic priorities. Slide seven, the Bank of two thousand and thirty. Our goal is to enhance efficiency and optimize operations through a comprehensive digital and operational transformation, ultimately improving our financial ratio. This transformation is built on three key pillars: excellence in operational efficiency.
We are committed to redefining our operating model to drive cost reductions, streamline processes and enhance productivity. By leveraging automation, AI driven decision making and advanced data analytics, we will improve efficiency, reduce complexity and ensure a more agile and cost effective organization. The second one is a fully digital retail banking experience. We are designing a seamless digital ecosystem that will become the primary platform for retail customers to manage their banking relationship. This includes end to end digital services, personalized banking product offering tailored to customers’ needs, AI powered assistance and self-service tools.
This transformation will elevate customer engagement. The third one is targeted growth in the small business segment. We see immense potential in small business segment, which remains underserved by traditional banking system. On one hand, many businesses struggle to access the banking services they need. On the other, this sector is a key driver of economic growth in Israel.
Our goal is to bridge this gap by providing tailored financial solutions, supportive credit modeling and digital banking tools that cater to the unique needs of small businesses. Through these three pillars, we are positioning Discount Bank to be more efficient customer centric and innovation driven financial institution ready to lead the banking landscape of 2,030. Slide eight. The second pillar, the Challenger Group. Our goal is to expand our market share in the retail and SMEs segments by leveraging innovation and disruptive financial solutions that cater to a broad customer base.
The first one, PayBooks, which you already know, the bank outside the bank. PayBooks is a flexible and innovative financial platform that operates as a banking alternative for customers across all banks. It is designed to provide seamless financial management solution, especially for groups, youth and families. Paybooks provide diverse range of financial services such as liquidity management with daily interest rate of up to 5%, flexible joint accounts for families and partners, effortless peer to peer transfers and group payments, credit solutions, paybooks for kids, digital flexible financial platform for children age eight and above under a parent supervision. Greenland is a second initiative, a digital credit service provider through partnership with hosting platforms, a collaboration with Isibon, a fintech firm.
Our platform provides seamless data driven credit services to customers regardless of their primary bank. Based on the experience with Paybox and Greenland, we are committed to establishing new disruptive ventures targeting underserved markets and customers of all banks. Moving to Slide nine. The third tier, specialized and synergies subsidiaries, our main subsidiaries. Discount Group is expected to undergo changes following the separation of Karl, our credit card company.
The group will lead initiatives that are expected to make a significant contribution to the group’s value and strengthened synergies. IDB New York. IDB is the leading U. S. Based bank, leading Israeli U.
S. Bank. It remains the cornerstone of the group’s international presence. We successfully introduced Gallatin Point as a minority shareholder, marketing a significant milestone that will support the bank’s long term expansion and operational enhancement. The second target is the sale of Scald’s strategic shift to unlock value.
Throughout the past year, we have been preparing for the sale of cloud. We engaged with J. T. Morgan as our financial advisor to execute the process effectively. We have recently opened an investor data room.
Mercantile, expanding in high growth segments, Arab and Orthodox Jewish communities as well as municipalities, where it have a major market share. Just yesterday, only yesterday, a new CEO came on board, Barak Nabi, who used to be a member of the management of Israel Viscount Bank. We wish you good luck. And the last but not least, IDB Capital, the group investment arm, it plays an important role in expanding and diversifying discount investment portfolio by leveraging deep market expertise. Moving to Slide 10.
As part of the development of the strategic plan, a series of projects have been formulated to support achieving the multiyear goals. The first one operating model for the retail customer. The project is the foundation of the strategic transformation and future growth. Second one, growth, growing the retail market share and strengthening customers’ loyalty. The third one and quite obvious is Gen AI, establishing infrastructure and governance for the AI to enhance services and drive sales growth.
IT strategy, aligning IT infrastructure with the strategic goals and with the new working method of agile, which we already started. We have above up more than 1,300 employees working in agile methodology. Organizational culture, we aim to foster a culture of innovation and excellence at every level of leadership in the bank. In the last slide, number 11, the bottom line, our financial targets we plan for 02/1930 and these are the minimum numbers. Our target is to achieve at least 13.5 return in equity in 02/1930, to be at least efficiency to have at least an efficiency ratio of 43%, to achieve at least a net profit of NIS 5,200,000,000.0 and to pay a dividend of 50%.
The number I’m taking into account the separation of Karl in the next two years. As I mentioned in the beginning, these targets are subject to our estimation of main macroeconomic factors and subject to regulatory changes. With this, I will forward the presentation to Asaf, our CFO, that will go over the fourth quarter results. Luis? Thank you, Avi,
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: and good afternoon, everyone. Please switch back to the investor presentation. I would open my part of the presentation with an overview of the macroeconomic main factors, Starting with Slide four, after fifteen months of military conflict, it is evident that the Israeli economy is resilient and the fundamentals are strong. On the left hand side, after a modest 0.6% growth in 2024, we anticipate a rebound in 2025 with projected growth of 4%. On the right side, the job market remains resilient along twenty twenty four, maintaining unemployment rate below 3%.
Slide five shows the most relevant macroeconomic parameters for the banking sector. Market expectations are for two to three bank of Israel rate cuts in 2025. The trajectory is moving down since November 24. On the right side, following a year of high inflation, the market anticipates CPI to decline throughout 2025 and align with Bank of Israel’s mid target range. Moving to Slide six.
The slide provides an overview of the group performance for the fourth quarter, starting with a net income of over ILS1 billion and our return on equity of 13.4%, credit loss expenses of 0.12%, credit growth of 1.6%, NIM at 2.63% and efficiency ratio at 52.1%. I will elaborate on each area in the next slide. On Slide seven, you can see our credit growth composition. In the fourth quarter, our credit portfolio continued its stable growth across all sectors and segments. The corporate segment continues to show strength with 3.5% growth, completing an annual growth of 14.8%.
Mortgage shares grew by 1.4% quarter over quarter and 6.1% annually and the household segment grew by 1.1% quarter over quarter and 9.1% in 2024. We continue to strictly monitor the credit portfolio as well as the real estate and construction section. Switching to Slide eight, you can see some numbers that reflect the risk in our credit book. Overall, credit loss decreased to 0.12%, driven by the decrease in collective allowances, mainly due to improvement in macroeconomic parameters such as unemployment and growth and more important an increase in collections as more borrowers return to serve their loans. These are also evident in the decrease of the non performing loan ratio to 0.61% of total credit adjusting to the pre war levels.
During the first two quarters into the war, we have taken a prudent approach with total allowances amounting up to 1.6% of total credit. It is only after the resurgence of the economy that we have started to release the additional allowances down to 1.46%. Moving to Slide nine to discuss our income. Total income remains stable accounting to NIS 16,000,000,000 in 2024, compared with NIS 23 and excluding one time items in the amount of NIS $425,000,000, mainly from sales of building, we have increased the recurring revenues from financing activities and fees by 1.8%. Net interest income was lower by 1%, mainly due to spread compression.
Fee income grew by 5.7%, mainly from credit card fees in CAL and non interest financing income increased to ILS1.4 billion in 2024, mainly from stock realization and valuation adjustments in discount capital. In the middle section of the slide, we can observe the quarterly changes. The flat CPI deducted NIS330 million quarter over quarter, decreasing NIM to 2.63%. At the right side, the income from regular financing activities, what we define as financing income from current operations, increased by 4.2% from the first quarter due to the growth in our loan book and balance sheet as our margins on loan and deposits are narrowing. I will now move to Slide 10 to discuss expenses and cost income ratio.
In 2024, we have managed to stabilize the recurring salary costs with a slight increase of 0.8%. The increase of 9% in maintenance and depreciation expenses is attributed to the relocation to our new campus. We should expect some further growth in this section in the next few quarters. Other expenses grew by 7.6%, mainly due to the increase of ILS 180,000,000 in clearing fees expenses in CALD as the turnover in credit card grew. As we prepare to the set of CALD, we do mention that efficiency ratio will drop from 52% to 46% after the sorry, 47% after the separation.
As we presented in our strategic review, our managerial focus on reducing costs is in the heart of our multi year strategic plan. Moving now to Slide 11. You can observe our ample liquidity and diversified deposit base. On the left, you can see that 36% of our deposits are from our retail and private customers, 15% are from SMEs, 18% from large corporates and 15% are from institutional. On the right hand side, our Tier one capital ratio stands at 10.66%, well above the 9.19% required ratio of Bank of Israel.
Our liquidity ratios are well above the regulatory demand, presenting a solid FCR of 130% and NSFR of 121%. Moving to Slide 12, I will briefly touch on our main subsidiaries, starting with Mercantile Bank that presents a net income of ILS $843,000,000 in 2024 and return on equity of 16.2%. The cost to income ratio reached 42.3%. Mercantile grew its loan book by 6.5% year over year by well balanced growth across most segments. IBB New York has presented net income of $89,000,000 in 2024 and a return on equity of 7.1.
The bank grew its loan book by 14% and total assets grew to $13,900,000,000 Working with our partners from Gallatin Fund, we are dedicated on enhancing the bank performance and overall efficiency while continuing growth. Card is presenting strong results in 2024 with a net income of ILS $324,000,000 and adjusted return on equity of 12.4% as consumer credit grew by 11.8% and transaction turnover by 13.9% year over year. At discount capital, with a record year and substantial contribution of ILS311 million from investment realizations and mark to market. To summarize my overview on Slide 13, I would like to emphasize the key takeaways from this quarter results. First, we delivered solid results with net income of ILS4.3 billion and return on equity of 13.4 percent.
Second, we present a continuous and solid credit growth of 8% this year as the economy and the housing market stabilize. Third, as macroeconomic factors improve, collective allowances reduced, NPL ratio went down to 0.61% and coverage ratio is at 1.46. Fourth, we remain focused on containing our costs. Salary expenses are contained, but this is not enough. We will see a gradual improvement in the coming quarters.
And lastly, the bank continues a payout of 40% dividend. At this point, we will be happy to answer any questions regarding the strategic plan or the
Conference Moderator, Israel Discount Bank: results. Thank The first question is from Chris Reimer of Barclays. Please go ahead.
Chris Reimer, Analyst, Barclays: Yes. Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. Congratulations on a strong quarter. I was wondering if I could get your comments on the Bank of Israel voluntary plan announced earlier this month to set aside more funds for families impacted by the last two years here.
Any thoughts on that and how it might compare with the programs you already have in place? Yes.
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: Hi, Chris. Thank you for the question. Yes, you should always consider what you’re offered versus the alternative. And I think it’s a fair and decent alternative that what the Bank of Israel is offering. Currently, we have some voluntary and mandatory plans we take from before.
But the impact on ourselves and probably on other banks are not that substantial given the net income. And it can be helpful and useful for the households and small businesses. And I think for the perspective of time, I think this is a good plan. We support it and we’ll definitely join the voluntary plan. And we do our best to support our clients and the Israel economy.
I hope this answered your question, but if you’d like to further
Chris Reimer, Analyst, Barclays: Sure. Yes. That’s good color. My other question regarding expenses. So you guys over the last few periods have really increased year on year.
And one thing, if you’ve reached the maximum or if there’s still more to go, I realize some of that might have been because of the ramp up to the move to the new campus. But how should we be looking at going forward? Are you going to return to some more normalized levels? Or do you still see some growth there with further investment in your operations?
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: I will answer this question. So first of all, we definitely focused on this area. We see our position in the market in this aspect. We definitely have room to go. We initiated in a few months ago just now a strategic project led by Avi, by the CEO of efficiency in the bank.
The main area where we are, where we feel comfortable is not on the depreciation, but on other costs and salary costs. And, but this project is a long project. Therefore, I said it’s not in one quarter. It includes changing and adapting our operating model and mechanize manual processes. So as I said, it will you will see the outcome gradually in the next quarter.
The plan is will be with us for the next two point five or three years. Yes. Just to add to Asaf, this is a wide range project. It doesn’t only deals with retiring of employees. It deals with real estate efficiency, procurement, organizational structure, internal processes and so on
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: and so forth. Eventually, you’ll get to the people as well. But is there the broad vision of where we can and should cut expenses.
Conference Moderator, Israel Discount Bank: The next question is from Priya Rastad from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Priya Rastad, Analyst, Jefferies: Hi there. Thanks for taking my question. I have a couple on the 2,030 target, please. The first is on costs and in terms of the shape of the cost growth over the strategy plan, you look to achieve growth and cost efficiency through the use of your digital platform and technology. Will we see an upfront cost or investment into that technology before we start to see the cost benefits or should we expect the benefits to come in straight away?
And the second is on your 50% dividend payout ratio. There have been a number of articles suggesting that the Bank of Israel are reluctant to increase the ceiling on the dividend payout ratio from 40%. How confident are you in being able to achieve or deliver the 50% target? And secondly, it would be great to understand a little bit more on your thinking to focus on dividend for the payout ratio target as opposed to a mix of the buyback and dividend? I’ve seen some of your peers introduced similar target, which suggests a mix of both.
So any color on that would be helpful. Thank you.
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: So regarding the dividend, first of all, regarding the there were three questions. What was the first one?
Priya Rastad, Analyst, Jefferies: The Bank of Israel, there have been articles suggesting they’re reluctant to increase the dividend payout ratio for
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: No, this was the last, but what was the first one?
Priya Rastad, Analyst, Jefferies: Sorry, just
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: Okay, the IT should be it. So what we our plan is to shift the investment program into the processes. So we should not see a big change in our investment. Therefore, we’ll not see a big change in our depreciation. As in any program, there are short term targets and long term targets.
So along the way, as I said, you will see a gradual change in our expenses and not long periods of time where we build it and then it comes. So it should be gradual.
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: As for the Just let me add to that. As As Asaf said, we want to divert the IT developments into the areas we are looking to save money to cut expenses. We also started and will continue to improve our productivity by moving to agile. We already did it quite dramatically, I would say, in the last year. And we see an immense improvement in the productivity, and we can we would continue this direction.
And we are hope to achieve more with the same resources that we currently have.
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: And back to the dividend. So Bank of Israel, of course, as we know, is not letting the bank right now to be above 40%, but this is a five year plan or even six year plan. We believe and forecast that the natural course of business for the bank would be to make 13.5% and grow in credit by 6% to 8%. Therefore, there is one for 50% in natural cost of business in the long term. I believe that after the Israeli economy will be post war and post the crisis and Bank of Israel will be will feel confident in the markets.
We are opening to different dividend payouts. And as for the diversification between payouts and dividend payouts and buybacks, well, we have the current program, which is CHF500 million. We are on the second notch right now. We have two notch two notches before it ends. And when it ends, we will make this discussion internally.
Right now, I can’t say how we will divide it. In any case, for the investors, if both of them are more as a sales, giving money to the investors, debt to the investors. I just can assume that
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: the event of Israel in few quarters when the economy will stabilize and will feel more comfort will allow higher distributions dividend. So I assume that probably all the banks or the majority of them will go up to 50%. So that’s my assumptions. I don’t know anything.
Conference Moderator, Israel Discount Bank: The third question is from Milan Lublin from IBI. Please go ahead. Hi guys. Thanks for taking my question.
Milan Lublin, Analyst, IBI: My question is on credit growth. We’ve seen other banks set the credit growth targets for the next for the upcoming years, way above GDP at around 8%. What are your views or targets regarding that matter?
Asaf Bastornak, CFO, Israel Discount Bank: I will answer that. So first of all, they were talking about two years and we have the five year in general. I would say for the five years, we estimate the long term credit growth at between 57%. In general, of course, it differs between different credit segments. And so this is what we took into account.
Of course, we can grow more because we have enough capital and grow less if there is less demand. And it’s a matter of price, of course, and risk. So right now, as it seems to us is that this is the pace that we should expect. Just to expand on the soft answer, as
Avi Levi, CEO, Israel Discount Bank: you can see in the current reports, we grew up quite double digit numbers in corporate lending and consumer lending 9%, which we thought was beneficial for us and for the shareholders. We stayed a bit we were a bit reluctant of growing dramatically in the mortgages area because of the very low pricing in the market. And we grew up only 6%, but that’s because we choose not to participate in the margins, the very low margins environment on mortgages. So that’s what Asaf referred to that we will choose where we can, where we will provide credit and where not given the risk and the margins involved.
Conference Moderator, Israel Discount Bank: There are no further questions at this time. Thank you. This concludes the Israel Discount Bank fourth quarter twenty twenty four results conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may go ahead and disconnect.
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