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Israel Discount Bank’s story parallels the history of the State of Israel; it combines pioneering idealism with the dedication and pragmatism needed to build a nation. The Bank was founded by Leon Recanati, a leader of the Zionist movement in Greece, who immigrated with his family to the small pre-State Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. Recanati, who wanted to play an active part in the formation of this new society, quickly understood that the fledgling economy needed financing in order to grow and prosper. An experienced merchant, he chose to embark on a new path and in 1935 established Israel Discount Bank’s first office in Tel Aviv.
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The Bank’s first branch was opened in 1943 – in Jerusalem, with a branch in Tel Aviv established five years later. This was a period of rapid development of the Israeli economy, and Israel Discount Bank was a key player in this growth. As business grew, the Bank expanded its domestic network, acquiring controlling interest in Palestine Mercantile Bank, and later the Israel branches of Ottoman Bank.
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From the beginning, the Bank combined the highest professional standards with an international orientation. In 1949, the Bank opened its first branch in Haifa, as well as its first representative office abroad – in New York. It also extended its services into Latin America, opening an office in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1958.
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In Israel, the Bank was the preferred financial institution of small and medium-sized businesses and professionals. As such it enjoyed an extremely high level of customer confidence, as shown by its rapid growth in deposits and loans, which often exceeded the average rate for all banks in Israel.
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To finance its rapid growth, the Bank early on turned to the capital markets, making its first public offering in Israel in 1963 and in the United States in 1964.
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The Bank’s New York operations grew substantially, and the representative office became a full service branch in 1962. In 1967, after acquiring a U.S. bank, it became Israel Discount Bank of New York. Insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Israel Discount Bank of New York took over the major portion of the Bank’s Western Hemisphere banking operations in 1980, and has grown to become one of the largest banks in New York State and the United States.
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During the next two decades the Bank continued its international expansion, opening a branch in Los Angeles, three branches in Florida, a branch in London, and representative offices in Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Sao Paulo. In addition, a subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank of New York -- Discount Bank Latin America -- was opened in Montevideo and Punta del Este, with representative offices in Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro.
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