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Banking (Customer Service) Law, 5741-1981

חוק הבנקאות (שירות ללקוח), תשמ"א-1981

Published: 1981-04-26Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-03-31 · Last amended 2026-07-22✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter II-A: Processing of an Application for a Housing Loan and Change of the Loan Repayment Date

Definitions§

9b.

In this Chapter –

"housing loan" – any of the following:

(1)a loan granted for the purpose of purchasing a residential apartment;
(2)a housing loan as defined in the Housing Loans Law, 5752-1992;

"housing loan agreement" – an agreement entered into between the lending banking corporation and the borrower at the time the loan is granted (in this Chapter – the agreement);

"notice" – a written notice to a customer;

"period for change of loan repayment date" – a period of four months commencing on the date of commencement of this Chapter, and thereafter – a period of four months commencing on 1 April in every four years, beginning in the year 2005.

Change of the Monthly Repayment Date of a Housing Loan§

9c.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or agreement, a customer who has submitted a written request during any period for change of loan repayment date may change the monthly repayment date of a housing loan received by the customer, to the 1st, 10th or 15th of the month, at the customer's choice.

Limitation Regarding Arrears in Loan Repayment§

9d.

Where a customer is in arrears in repayment of a housing loan, and at the time of the customer's request for a change of the monthly repayment date as referred to in section 9c the customer has not yet settled the full amount of the arrears debt, or has not reached an arrangement with the banking corporation, the banking corporation shall not be obliged to comply with the request.

Notice by the Banking Corporation§

9e.

No later than thirty days before the commencement of each period for change of loan repayment date, a banking corporation shall notify the customer of the customer's right to change the monthly repayment date of a housing loan, in accordance with the conditions prescribed in this Law; a banking corporation may deliver such a notice to the customer within the framework of its notice to the customer regarding the annual breakdown of housing loan payments.

Change in Respect of Part of the Housing Loan§

9f.

A customer shall not be entitled to change the monthly repayment date except in respect of all parts of the housing loan; in this section, "part" – any part of the housing loan to which different conditions apply from those applicable to other parts of the loan, whether one agreement was entered into in relation to all parts or more than one agreement was entered into.

Commissions for Processing an Application for a Housing Loan and Change of Housing Loan Repayment Dates§

9g.
(a)For a change of the monthly repayment date of a housing loan as referred to in section 9c, a banking corporation may collect a commission not exceeding one hundred and twenty-five New Israeli Shekels.
(a1)For processing an application for a housing loan, a banking corporation may collect a commission not exceeding NIS 360.
(b)Where a customer has several housing loans with the same banking corporation and the customer requests to change the monthly repayment date of more than one housing loan received by the customer, the banking corporation may collect a commission of fifty New Israeli Shekels for a change of the repayment date of each additional loan, provided that the total commissions collected by the banking corporation for changing the repayment dates of all the housing loans as aforesaid shall not exceed two hundred and twenty-five New Israeli Shekels.
(c)The banking corporation shall perform a calculation of interest in respect of the difference in the number of days between the original monthly loan repayment date and the new monthly repayment date (in this subsection – financial settlement); the financial settlement shall be carried out at an interest rate of prime minus one quarter of a percentage point, based on the average prime interest rate of the five largest banks, and the amount resulting from the said financial settlement shall be added to, or deducted from, the amounts payable by the customer to the banking corporation; the Minister of Finance, with the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset, may, by Regulations, change the interest rate used to calculate the financial settlement pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
(d)The amounts referred to in this section shall be updated on 1 January of each year, in accordance with the rate of change in the new index compared with the basic index; in this subsection –

"index" – the consumer price index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;

"new index" – the index most recently published before the date of update;

"basic index" – the index most recently published before the previous date of update.

Entry into Force of the Change§

9h.

The new loan repayment date shall enter into force on the repayment date falling in the month following the month in which the request was submitted, provided that at least 14 days have elapsed from the date of submission of the request for change to the banking corporation.

Deferral of the Monthly Repayment Date of a Housing Loan in Special Circumstances§

9h1.
(a)Prior to the conclusion of a housing loan agreement for the purpose of purchasing a sole dwelling as defined in section 9a1(d), a banking corporation shall notify the customer that it is possible to include in the loan agreement provisions pursuant to which the customer may defer the monthly repayment dates of the loan, if so requested, on conditions to be set by the banking corporation and subject to the following provisions:
(1)After the conclusion of the loan agreement, one of the following has occurred and a document attesting thereto has been presented to the banking corporation:
(a)The customer has ended his employment in the year preceding his request to defer the monthly repayment dates of the loan, and has not been employed since;
(b)The customer has fallen ill or been injured and as a result is not fit to work for a continuous period exceeding three months;
(c)The customer has given birth, six months have not yet elapsed since the date of birth, and she is not employed;
(2)A customer is entitled to defer repayment dates pursuant to this section for a period as requested, not exceeding three months, not more than once in any 12 consecutive months and not more than three times during the term of the housing loan.
(b)Without derogating from the provisions of any law, prior to the conclusion of the housing loan agreement, the banking corporation shall provide the customer with a written explanation regarding the conditions for deferral of the monthly repayment date of the loan pursuant to this section; such explanation shall set out, inter alia, the costs involved in the customer's choice to include in the agreement provisions regarding the possibility of deferring the monthly repayment date of the loan as set out in subsection (a), as well as the costs involved in exercising that possibility.
(c)The deferral of the monthly repayment date of a housing loan pursuant to this section shall not prejudice the rights available to the customer under the loan agreement or under any law, including the customer's rights to alternative housing or the customer's right to apply to the Special Committee pursuant to the provisions of section 5a of the Housing Loans Law, 5752-1992.
(d)The provisions of this section may not be made subject to contrary stipulation except in favour of the customer.

Deferral of the Repayment Dates of a Housing Loan due to Death§

9h2.
(a)Where a customer who took a housing loan from a banking corporation has died, the banking corporation shall, at the request of the person who is obligated to repay the loan (in this section – the debtor), defer the repayment dates of the loan for a period as requested by the debtor, not exceeding 12 months from the date of death, provided that a death certificate has been presented to the banking corporation.
(b)In respect of the deferral of the loan repayment dates in accordance with subsection (a), a banking corporation shall not collect any payment that would not have been required to be paid but for the deferral, including arrears interest for the period of deferral.
(c)Where the repayment dates of the housing loan have been deferred pursuant to the provisions of this section, the payments whose repayment date has been deferred shall be paid in one of the following ways, at the election of the debtor:
(1)At the end of the loan repayment period under the agreement, in periodic payments equal in number to the number of dates that were deferred;
(2)In payments to be added to the payments that the debtor is required to pay until the end of the repayment period.
(d)Where a banking corporation has become aware of the death of a customer who took a housing loan from it, the banking corporation shall include in any letter or notice sent in connection with the debt or the balance of the loan, details regarding the debtor's rights pursuant to this section.
(e)The provisions of this section may not be made subject to contrary stipulation except in favour of the debtor.

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Chapter II-B: Supervision of Fees

Full Tariff and Reduced Tariffs§

9i.
(a)The Governor, after consulting the Advisory Committee, shall determine, in rules, a list of services in respect of which a banking corporation is entitled to collect fees from its customers, and the manner of calculation of the fees that may be collected for such services (in this Chapter – the full tariff); the Governor may determine categories of services to which the provisions of this subsection and the provisions of section 9j shall not apply.
(b)The Governor may determine in rules reduced tariffs from within the full tariff, in respect of categories of banking services or categories of customers (in this Chapter – reduced tariffs).
(c)A banking corporation shall notify its customers of the full tariff, the amounts of fees it collects for the services included therein, or their rates (in this Chapter – the full tariff of the banking corporation), and shall do likewise in respect of the reduced tariff applicable to it, if determined (in this Chapter – the reduced tariff of the banking corporation), all in the manner to be determined by the Governor in rules.
(c1)A banking corporation shall notify its customers, within the framework of the full tariff of the banking corporation and the reduced tariffs of the banking corporation, that it is entitled to collect amounts or rates lower than those specified therein, except in respect of a fee determined pursuant to section 9l(1) for a supervised service.
(d)In determining the rules pursuant to this section, the Governor shall act towards a fair and comprehensible presentation of the fees, with the aim of ensuring customers' ability to compare the cost of managing an account and means of payment, and shall also act with due regard, to the extent possible, to the need to prevent the collection of different fees for the same service, unless the Governor is of the opinion that there are circumstances that justify such collection.
(e)
(1)A banking corporation wishing to add a service to the full tariff shall submit to the Supervisor a reasoned request to that effect; the Supervisor may require the applicant to provide additional particulars for the examination of the request.
(2)The Supervisor shall respond to the request within 30 days of the date of its receipt or of the date of receipt of the additional particulars, as the case may be.
(3)The Supervisor may approve the request and may make approval conditional on conditions, or reject the request; if the Supervisor has approved the request, the banking corporation shall be entitled to collect a fee for the service with effect from the date stated in the approval.
(4)The Governor shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a service approved pursuant to this subsection.
(f)In this section and in section 9j, "customer" means an individual, and also a corporation that is a business as determined by the Governor in rules, having regard to its turnover.

Prohibition on Collecting a Fee Otherwise than in Accordance with the Full Tariff and the Reduced Tariffs§

9j.

A banking corporation shall not collect fees from its customers except in respect of a service included in the full tariff and in accordance with its provisions, or in respect of a service approved in accordance with the provisions of section 9i(e), and in respect of categories of customers determined pursuant to section 9i(b) – in respect of a service included in the reduced tariff applicable to such category of customers and in accordance with its provisions.

Prohibition on Collecting a Fee Otherwise than in Accordance with the Banking Corporation's Tariffs§

9j1.

A banking corporation shall not collect from its customers a fee in an amount or at a rate exceeding the amount or rate set out in the tariff published by the banking corporation, or otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of such a tariff.

Prohibition on Collecting a Fee Otherwise than in Accordance with the Agreement with the Customer§

9j2.

Without derogating from the provision of section 9j1, where it has been agreed with a customer that a fee shall be collected from that customer in an amount or at a rate lower than the amount or rate set out in the tariff published by the banking corporation, the banking corporation shall not collect from the customer a fee in an amount or at a rate exceeding the amount or rate agreed as aforesaid.

Prohibition on Collecting a Fee for a Service Not Provided§

9j3.

A banking corporation shall not collect a fee from a customer except in respect of a service that has actually been provided to the customer.

Collection of Fees by a New Bank§

9j4.
(a)In this section –

"new bank" means a bank in respect of which five years have not yet elapsed since it became a licence holder;

"customer", for the purposes of subsections (b) to (d) – as defined in section 9i(f).

(b)The provisions of sections 9i and 9j shall not apply to a new bank or to an auxiliary corporation controlled by a new bank.
(c)A new bank or an auxiliary corporation controlled by it shall notify its customers of the services in respect of which it collects fees and of the amounts of the fees it collects for such services or their rates, in a simple and clear manner (in this section – the new bank tariff); the new bank tariff shall be published to the public online, and shall also be provided to customers in the ways customarily used by the new bank or the auxiliary corporation controlled by it to provide information to customers.
(d)A new bank or an auxiliary corporation controlled by it shall notify its customers, within the framework of the new bank tariff, that it is entitled to collect amounts or rates lower than those specified in the tariff, except in respect of a fee determined pursuant to section 9l(1) for a supervised service.

Declaration of a Service as a Supervised Service in respect of the Fee Collected Therefor§

9k.
(a)The Governor may, for the purpose of supervising the amount of a fee collected by a banking corporation from its customers for a particular service, declare, by Order, that service as a supervised service for the purposes of sections 9l or 9m (in this Chapter – supervised service), if one of the following applies to it:
(1)The fee collected therefor is liable to reduce competition between banking corporations or between them and another body providing a similar service;
(2)A customer can receive it only at the banking corporation at which the customer's account is maintained;
(3)In the opinion of the Governor, it is an essential service and there is a need to supervise it on grounds of public interest.
(b)The Governor, after consulting the Advisory Committee and with the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset, may determine additional grounds beyond those listed in subsection (a); if the Governor has so determined, the provisions of the opening words of subsection (a) shall apply in respect of the grounds so determined.

Supervision of Fee Amounts or Rates§

9l.

The Governor may, after consulting the Advisory Committee, determine, by Order, in respect of a supervised service, any of the following:

(1)The amount of the fee to be collected therefor or its rate;
(2)The maximum amount or maximum rate of the fee that may be collected therefor;
(3)A prohibition on the collection of a fee therefor.

Request for an Increase in the Amount or Rate of a Fee§

9m.
(a)A banking corporation wishing to collect from its customers, in respect of a supervised service for which no provision has been made pursuant to section 9l, a fee in an amount or at a rate exceeding the amount or rate it collected for that service on the eve of the declaration pursuant to section 9k, shall submit to the Supervisor a reasoned request to that effect; the Supervisor may require the applicant to provide additional particulars for the examination of the request.
(b)The Supervisor may permit an increase in the amount or rate of a fee collected by a banking corporation from its customers for a supervised service in respect of which a request has been submitted pursuant to subsection (a), either at the amount or rate requested pursuant to that subsection or at a lower amount or rate, or may reject the request; the Supervisor shall notify the applicant of the decision on the request within 30 days of the date of its receipt or of the date of receipt of additional particulars, as the case may be.

Prohibition on Collecting a Fee for a Supervised Service Otherwise than in Accordance with Sections 9l or 9m§

9n.

A banking corporation shall not collect from its customers a fee for a supervised service otherwise than in accordance with a provision set in respect thereof by Order pursuant to section 9l, and shall also not increase the amount or rate of a fee it collects for such a service for which no provision has been set by Order pursuant to that section, except pursuant to a permit under section 9m or otherwise than in accordance with the conditions of such a permit.

Duty to Report Prior to Increasing a Fee for a Non-Supervised Service§

9o.

A banking corporation shall not increase the amount or rate of a fee for a service that is not a supervised service, unless it has given the Supervisor 30 days' advance notice thereof.

Publication of Approvals and Permits§

9p.

The Supervisor may direct a banking corporation to publish, in the manner directed, an approval or permit granted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

Exclusivity of the Power to Supervise Fees§

9q.

The Commodities and Services Price Supervision Law, 5756-1996, shall not apply to a fee for a service under this Law.

Duty to Report to the Economics Committee of the Knesset§

9r.

The Supervisor shall report to the Economics Committee of the Knesset, every six months, on actions taken in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, and on the implementation of those provisions by banking corporations.

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