חוק הבנקאות (רישוי) (תיקון מס' 32), התשפ"ד–2024Law Banking (Licensing) (Amendment No. 32), 2024 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The Banking (Licensing) Law authorizes the Supervisor of Banks, or a Bank of Israel employee authorized by the Supervisor of Banks, to approve a banking corporation's request to close a permanent bank branch or to object to its closure. The Supervisor may also condition the branch's closure on certain terms, including postponing the closure date. In making such a decision, the Supervisor is required to balance a variety of different considerations, including the branch's contribution to the services provided to the banking corporation's customers, to the development of the banking corporation's business, and to the public interest, all as detailed in the law. Due to the negative consequences that closing a bank branch may have on its customer public, especially on elderly customers, it was established that every decision on a request to close a branch will require the approval of the Licensing Committee, and not only a decision objecting to a branch closure as was previously the case. Accordingly, and because the Licensing Committee convenes once every several months, the timelines for the Supervisor's decision were extended so that it will be given within 90 days from the date the request to close a branch is received or from the date additional details required to examine the request are received, as applicable. The Licensing Committee is a committee composed of public representatives, whose role is to advise the Governor of the Bank of Israel and the Supervisor in granting licenses, permits, and approvals under the law. It was also established that the Supervisor will report to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, twice a year during the first three years of reporting, and thereafter once a year, on the implementation of the provisions of the arrangement concerning the closure of permanent bank branches, as well as on the policy of the Supervisor and the Licensing Committee in examining a request to close a permanent bank branch. Furthermore, it was established that the banking corporation will be required to publish a notice of the branch's closure on its website, in addition to the obligation to give notice in writing and in the manners by which it customarily gives notices to customers, which already applies to it today.

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