WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve Board has approved the Israel-based Bank Hapoalims application to control the newly chartered Signature Bank in New York.
The approval, issued Monday, allows Bank Hapoalim and its subsidiaries to act as bank holding companies and control all of the voting shares of Signature, which was chartered by the New York State Banking Department in September but is not yet operational.
Bank Hapoalim is the largest banking organization in Israel, with consolidated assets of $52.8 billion. It has three branches in New York City, a branch in Chicago, and an office in San Francisco.
Also on Monday, the Fed approved the Utah investment management firm Franklin Resources Inc.s bid to acquire New York-based Fiduciary Trust Company International.
Franklin Resources was approved to become a bank holding company and a financial holding company, and take control of all of the shares of Fiduciary Trust. The Utah investment company has consolidated assets of $4 billion, and owns Franklin B&T, which controls $56.8 million of deposits.
