JERUSALEM: Hapoalim, one of Israel's top two banks, said on Thursday ​it raised $2 billion in a private bond sale to international institutional investors ⁠in what it called the largest foreign bond issue by an Israeli bank.

The sale ⁠was held ‌with an aim to continue diversifying funding sources.

Demand, Hapoalim said, reached $7 billion from institutional investors in the United States, ⁠Europe, the UK and other countries, while it accepted $2 billion.

"The strong demand for our issuance is further evidence of the bank's ... high level of trust it enjoys in global financial markets," said CEO ⁠Yadin Antebi. "This fundraising will ​enable the bank to continue driving its significant growth trajectory in the coming years."

Citi, JP Morgan, ‍Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and Goldman Sachs were joint lead managers on the ​offering.

Helped by high interest rates, Hapoalim posted net profit of 7.7 billion shekels ($2.4 billion) over the first three quarters of 2025, versus 7.6 billion shekels in all of 2024.

In the offering, Hapoalim sold two bond series with maturities of 3-1/2 and seven years, carrying annual interest rates of 4.722% and 5.252%, respectively - about 35 basis points above the yield on foreign currency bonds issued by Israel earlier this week.

Israel on Wednesday ⁠said it raised $6 billion in five, ‌10 and 30-year bonds in an international debt offering, taking advantage of a positive market environment and Israel's improved fiscal position since the ‌October 10 ⁠ceasefire in Gaza. Spreads were 90 to 125 basis points over U.S. Treasuries.

($1 = ⁠3.1698 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Bernadette Baum)