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Bucharest, August 2nd, 2010
Bank Leumi Romania finalized the EMV implementation and will issue only cards with CHIP
Starting with July 2010, Bank Leumi Romania issues only cards with CHIP (credit or debit cards), and, until the end of the current year, all the cards of the current clients will be changed. The migration to CHIP is valid for the whole cards portfolio: VISA Gold, MasterCard Standard and MasterCard Business.
The Clients who want to make transactions through POS or to safely withdraw cash from the ATMs, are kindly invited to any Leumi unit and, within maximum 5 working days, will receive the new secured card.
The cards with embedded CHIP decrease - up to elimination - the number of frauds against the users of classic cards with magnetic stripe. Besides, the information volume that can be stored on the new type of card is higher, which will allow to use it as an identity card, as bus or metro card.
Moreover, the owners of Leumi cards may activate the SMS Alert service. It is a service whereby, with an SMS message on the mobile phone of the card owner, you are informed about any transaction performed on your card within few seconds after it was performed, receiving thus details on the transaction and on the available amount. The SMS is sent also in case of a failed transaction.
Bucharest, July 14, 2010
Bank Leumi Romania launches Leumi Gold Card, the first credit card with medical services included
An entire series of exclusivist services join the financial advantages related to Leumi Gold Card, ranging from: free of charge insurance for trips abroad, free access to the V.I.P. sector within “Henri Coanda” International Airport, preferential tariffs when purchasing hotel services, tourist packages, airplane tickets, rent-a-car, restaurants, fitness, spa, to dental surgery and many others.
“Bank Leumi Romania brings about the first occasion on the local card market for the users of Leumi Gold Card to have free of charge access to premium medical services within more than 270 partner private clinics, located allover Romania. This was possible due to having signed a partnership with Signal Iduna insurance company, one of the biggest financial groups in Germany, present in Romania since 2008”, states Mr. Laurentiu Mitrache, Executive President of Bank Leumi Romania.
Leumi Gold Card, issued under the logo of VISA, is the first credit card launched by Bank Leumi Romania for its premium clients, providing its users with a credit limit of up to EUR 100,000 (in RON equivalent). It has one of the best interest* for the credit facility on card (ROBOR 3M + 9%) and zero obligations regarding the monthly reimbursement of a minimum amount.
With Chip incorporated, it has specific advantages related to security, and thus, the data stored cannot be copied or modified. Leumi Gold is a card that allows national and international utilization under extremely advantageous conditions, with no commissions charged for any payments made at traders. The grace period is 55 days for payments to traders.
As a plus, Leumi Card Alert services is attached to Leumi Gold Card without any commission. Using it, the clients are informed in real time, by SMS, about all the payments done with the card.
For detailed information on Leumi Gold Card, please access http://Gold.Leumi.ro.
* DAE (total annual interest): 18.16%, computed for a credit on card amounting to RON 20,000, with three years lending period, analysis commission of RON 100, annual administration commission 1%, monthly amount to be paid – interest related to the credit used – RON 266, considering that the whole credit was used; the total payable value is 29.996 RON.
Bucharest, April 11, 2010
Bank Leumi Romania launches the online computer to help you in computing your financing needs, at the same time with the “Business Plus” credit line with a fixed interest of 8.9% (RON).
Bank Leumi Romania has launched the “Business Plus” credit line, granting a fixed interest during the entire lending period, of only 8.9% per year for loans in RON. The lending period is of 6-12 months, during which the clients may make an unlimited number of disbursements, the reimbursements replenishing the amount granted.
The “Business Plus” credit line addresses the companies and finances the current payments, the wages payments, the utilities, the debts to the state, to the suppliers and other operational expenditures.
Once you have contracted the “Business Plus” credit line, the Internet Banking Leumi Online service is provided for free, the clients being granted discounts for operations commissions by 30% less than the standard commissions of the bank.
For the first time in Romania, Bank Leumi launched the computer for the online assessments of your financing needs.
“By accessing www.leumi.ro/calculator_credit/, you may very quickly identify your financing needs. Besides, by sending an on-line request, the clients are contacted within maximum 48 hours by a specialist of the bank in order to give you personalized recommendations, during the hours specified in the online request”, states Mr. Laurenţiu Mitrache, Executive President of Bank Leumi Romania.
Bank Leumi România is a subsidiary of Bank Leumi le-Israel, the leader of the Israeli banking sector. Set up in 1902 in London, Bank Leumi le-Israel has an international network, counting branches and representation offices in the most important economic and financial centers of the world: the United States of America, Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland , Luxemburg, Hong-Kong, Australia, Northern and South America, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The international network counts 251 branches in Israel, 88 units and representation offices in other 22 countries worldwide, proving once more that the presence of Bank Leumi le-Israel in Romania is an opportunity to guarantee the correct value of the client’s money. In Romania, Bank Leumi has been acting since 2006, already counting a network of 37 units.
For additional information, please contact: Monica Axan, PR Manager Bank Leumi Romania, monica.axan@leumi.ro, 0751.300.028.
Bucharest, May 5th, 2010
Bank Leumi Romania broadened its SMS Online alert service
Beginning with April 2010, Bank Leumi Romania broadened its SMS Online alert service by activating the notifications regarding the past-due installments or the overdrafts expiry.
The initial SMS Online system was launched at the end of 2009 with the aim of providing the clients, via SMS, with information over the operations performed on the accounts attached to their cards: the users receive information in real time over the amounts paid or withdrawn, the terminal and the hour when the transactions were performed, as well as the amount (balance) available after the last transaction. The service is very useful because it allows for avoiding the frauds in case the card is stolen or used without the owner’s permission and provides a high control degree by immediately informing on the doubled transactions at ATM and POS.
For the month of April this year, the novelty is the broadening in the notifications range received on the mobile phones by the clients of Bank Leumi Romania. The new platform provides them, FOR FREE, with notifications on the expiry of their overdrafts, but also with the maturity of their installments – both for credit cards and for the debit cards with overdraft.
The next step in developing the SMS alert system relates to the notifications on the current accounts operations: incoming and outgoing payments, balance (amounts available). It is real time data, very useful for the activity performed by the clients.
"The notifications via SMS are extremely useful, and the feed-back from the clients regarding this service is a positive one: they noted the benefit of quick information and asked us to widen our service also towards other areas. The on-going phase addresses mainly the companies, for which the moment when the payments arrive in the current account is very important in order to arrange their further payments. The service is very flexible, allowing for different options: to receive the information either periodically such as the amounts available or by establishing limits of amounts in case of the incoming or outgoing payments. The phone requests or the periodical verification of the current account by means of the internet banking are also solutions available, but the need for prompt information makes this service the most fit answer to the need of thorough planning and, besides, it adds a high level of comfort" - Florin Lazar, Manager of Strategy and Marketing Division.
For additional information, please contact: Monica Axan, PR Manager Bank Leumi Romania, monica.axan@leumi.ro, 0751.300.028.
Bucharest, May 3rd, 2010
Bank Leumi Romania offers to traders the possibility of installing last generation mobile POS devices, for card payments
Being a member with full rights of VISA Europe and Master Card International organizations, Bank Leumi Romania accepts the payments by VISA, VISA Electron, MasterCard and Maestro cards issued by the financial institutions in Romanian and abroad.
In order to meet the traders’ requirements, Bank Leumi Romania is implementing a modern and practical manner of payment, supported by the GPRS technology: payment by means of mobile POS devices.
Thus, the trader may travel wherever he/she wants with the mobile POS, the only condition for its utilization being the GSM signal. The service guarantees a quick connection, very much improved, without errors. In case the trader changes its location, the POS does not need any configuration and it may be used immediately, as such, within the new location. The new devices for card payment acceptance are endowed with CHIP.
Bank Leumi Romania provides the interested traders with an advantageous offer for POS purchasing: transactions settlement in maximum 24 hours, stationery cost supporting, free service, training of the employees on how to make card payments, Help Desk for phone assistance.
For additional information, please contact: Monica Axan, PR Manager Bank Leumi Romania, monica.axan@leumi.ro, 0751.300.028.
Bucharest, October 19th, 2009
Bank Leumi Romania launches the "Leumi SMS Online” service
Bank Leumi Romania launches today, the 19th of October, the "Leumi SMS Online” service addressing the clients of the bank, individuals or legal entities, owners of a debit or a credit card issued under the logo of MasterCard and Visa.
The "Leumi SMS Online" service adds value to the products and services portfolio of the bank and brings a series of advantages to Leumi card owners.
"Leumi SMS Online" is an alert service on the mobile phone. With this facility, the clients have an efficient control, in real time, over the transactions performed on the card account. The information provided relates to the balance available after having performed any transaction by Leumi card. The bank automatically sends, via its informatics system, an SMS to the mobile phone of the account owner, and this SMS includes the following extremely useful information for the client: the amount of the transaction, the client’s ID, the last 6 digits of the card by which the transaction was made, the hour, the location of the transaction (the terminal) and the available balance after the transaction.
"Leumi SMS Online” has many advantages for the clients, namely: ensures an efficient control of the financing and has a high level of security (allows for immediate tracing out of fraudulent transactions in case of loss, theft or card cloning).
Promotionally, Bank Leumi Romania offers free access to this service until December 31st, 2009 to all its card owners clients.
Starting January 1st, 2010, the clients of the bank will benefit from this service, based on a monthly subscription, under the following contract costs: 1 Euro /month for individuals and 3 Euro/ month for legal entities.
"With the information provided, Leumi SMS Online puts at the disposal of our clients a control instrument, in real time, over the utilization of the banking cards. The client of Bank Leumi Romania receives all the information, directly, on his/her mobile phone. By using this service, all our clients benefit from a thorough control over the transactions made by card and from their safety" stated Dan Negrau, Executive Vice-President al Bank Leumi Romania, responsible for the IT Division and Cards Department.
Bank Leumi Romania - "Prima Casa"
Bank Leumi Romania, participant in the lending program for the project “Prima Casa” (“First Housing Unit”) since August 2009, entered this program having credit requests from clients amounting to about EUR 2 million. The threshold initially approved by FNGCIMM (National Guarantee Fund for the SMEs), for Bank Leumi Romania reached EUR 6.9 million. It should be mentioned that, after the allocation of thresholds for the participating banks by FNGCIMM in October, the allocated amount of EUR 6.9 million remained unmodified.
Bank Leumi Romania has processed up to now, through "Prima Casa" program, credit requests and lending commitments of EUR 2.3 million. The facilities approved by the bank reached EUR 1.9 million. As regards the facilities effectively granted, the value of the loans reaches EUR 0.62 million, and the commitments amount to EUR 0.4 million.
From the real estate assets for which credit requests arrived, 60% are new housing units and 40% are old housing units, and, as geographical spread, 50% of the “Prima Casa” requests come from the clients in Bucharest, the other 50% belong to the clients from the other parts of the country.
According to the analyses made at the level of the whole network regarding the requests and the files on going under "Prima Casa", Bank Leumi Romania assesses that, by the end of this year, the threshold allocated for the bank within this program would have been totally used.
"Concerning the "Prima Casa" program, the demand regarding it showed a constant increase. With an initial distrustful assessment expressed by certain analysts and by a part of the applicants, this project reached success, overcoming the barriers appeared mainly because of the logistics.
We ascertained a sound influence of the “Prima Casa” program also on selling other lending products of the Bank’s portfolio because we had to offer alternative financing solutions to the individuals who did not comply with the eligibility criteria of this program. I relate here to the consumers loans having as destination the advance payment for “Prima Casa” or to the mortgage loans to purchase new real estate assets whose applicants are persons who, also by means of this program, succeeded in selling old apartments” - Alin Alupei, Director Retail Division.
With the "Prima Casa" program, Bank Leumi Romania lends with an interest consisting of the inter-banking rate EURIBOR at 3 months plus a margin of 3.95% (for loans in EUR), ROBOR at 3 months plus a margin of 2.45% (for loans in RON),respectively. There is NO commission charged for lending, for monthly administration or for early reimbursement. The applicant will have to pay, according to the law, a guarantee commission for FNGCIMM amounting to 0.37% per year. The lending period is of maximum 30 years.
All the information regarding this type of credit are available on the site of the bank, www.leumi.ro, website where the applicants will find also an installments computer, configured in order to provide them with the information regarding the monthly costs implied by accessing a “Prima Casa” loan.
Bank Leumi Romania, on profit after the first 9 months
Despite the difficult economic environment generated by the international economic crisis, Bank Leumi Romania registered positive results for the first nine months of the year.
The financial results in accordance with IFRS show, as at September 30, 2009, a net profit of RON 11.7 mil., compared to RON 7.3 mil. as at September 30, 2008.
As at September 30, 2009, Bank Leumi Romania registered assets amounting to RON 1,311 mil., compared to RON 1,310 mil. as at September 30, 2008.
The volume of the gross credits granted by the Bank as at September 30, 2009 was of RON 942 mil., compared to RON 887 mil. as at September 30, 2008 while the sources attracted from clients reached the amount of RON 725 mil. as at the end of the third quarter of 2009.
As at the same date, the social capital of the bank was of RON 272 mil. (compared to RON 260 mil. as at December 31, 2008) 99.90% owned by Bank Leumi le-Israel.
The solvency ratio as at September 30, 2009, according to Basel II regulations was 26.56%, significantly exceeding the limit of 8% required by the legal provisions in force (as at September this year, the average on the banking system is of 13,67%).
"Bank Leumi Romania adjusted its strategy to the 2009 economic environment, the main objectives being: increasing the efficiency of the distribution network, market re-positioning from the business model point of view, finding viable solutions for the clients facing temporary reimbursement difficulties, providing competitive products and services and a thorough costs control - actions which kept the profitability at a convenient level.” – has stated Mr. Laurentiu Gabriel Mitrache –Executive President of Bank Leumi Romania.
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