Bank Leumi USA CEO Announces Retirement; New CEO Named.

NEW YORK -- Bank Leumi USA ("BLUSA") today announced the retirement of long-time chief executive officer, Dr. Zalman Segal. Dr. Segal has been with the Leumi Group for 45 years, the last 15 of which were spent at BLUSA. He will remain vice chairman of the board. Uzi Rosen, with the Group for 22 years, and most recently chief executive officer of Bank Leumi UK, will assume the position of chief executive officer of BLUSA on November 1, 2004.

In the last 15 years Dr. Segal has overseen a great deal of change at BLUSA. When he assumed the role of chief executive officer in 1989 Bank Leumi Trust Company of New York had a number of retail branches in New York, Long Island and Westchester. In the early 90's the bank divested itself of all but two of those branches in order to concentrate on commercial, international and private banking. In 1997 Bank Leumi Trust Company of New York became Bank Leumi USA and absorbed the existing branches of its parent, Bank Leumi le-Israel, in Chicago, Illinois and Beverly Hills and Encino, California. In 2002 BLUSA expanded into Florida by purchasing the insured deposits of a bank in Boca Raton and absorbing the Bank Leumi le-Israel Miami Agency. In 2003 BLUSA also opened branches in Aventura, Florida and downtown Los Angeles and moved its San Jose, California office to larger quarters in Palo Alto.

Mr. Rosen is expected to continue the bank's expansion into key markets appropriate for its mix of commercial middle market lending and U.S. and international private banking. He will also oversee the implementation of a systems upgrade now underway that will allow the bank to achieve substantial improvements in client service delivery and management reporting and monitoring capabilities.

Mr. Rosen started his career with the Leumi Group in 1982 as a relationship manager in the Corporate Division and rose quickly to regional manager in charge of 65 branches. Thereafter, he became head of the Commercial Customers' Department of Banking Division where he was responsible for the credit department. By 1995 he was the head of the Construction & Real Estate Division, and in 2001 he assumed responsibility for the bank's UK subsidiary.

During his long tenure with the Leumi Group, Dr. Segal held positions of increasing responsibility including managing the international and administrative divisions, as well as overseeing human resources and operations. He also served as assistant to the chairman of the board and as the Group's official spokesperson in Israel. In 1975 he was instrumental in establishing the Group's Chicago office where he served as manager.

From 1971 through 1974, Dr. Segal was an assistant vice president at Bank Leumi Trust Company of New York ("BLTNY") where he was responsible for business development with Jewish and Israeli institutions. He later served as assistant to the president of BLTNY.

Bank Leumi USA is an FDIC-insured, full-service commercial bank that provides financial services to middle- and upper-middle market firms, international businesses, and not-for-profit organizations through offices in New York, Illinois, California and Florida. BLUSA offers U.S. and international private banking services as well as a full range of securities and insurance products through its brokerage subsidiary, Leumi Investment Services Inc. Bank Leumi USA is the largest subsidiary of the worldwide Leumi Group, founded in 1902. BLUSA has operated in the U.S. for 50 years.