The bank said that most of the debt provision was from outstanding credit since the mid-1990s and borrowers who have already been designated as problems. The additional provisions were required in light of the erosion of the collateral and a decline in the borrowers' ability to repay. Both Minkevitch and Offer were more optimistic regarding the bank's early retirement plan. In the past, Discount has suffered from difficult labor relations. Discount also announced yesterday that it had finally reached an agreement with its workers regarding a five-day week.
Discount is the last bank to introduce such a system.
The group's NIS 443m. Minkevitch also mentioned the opening of new branches in London and Los Angeles last year, as well as plans to open a branch in Geneva. Analysts continue to believe that Discount's more profitable holdings will serve as an incentive to investors if the government moves forward with its privatization. The government cancelled the bank's privatization bid in June, when the two groups bidding were unable to meet the tender's requirements. Since then, a committee has made concrete proposals for the privatization of Bank Leumi, but has yet to make similar suggestions regarding Discount.