I won't lend hand to ousting Discount chairman, vows Steinitz

Discount Bank Chairman Shlomo Zohar has no intention of quitting, no matter what his employers would like., and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has no intention of abetting any attempt to get rid of Zohar, he clarified in internal discussions. Meanwhile, Zohar will be holding a brief board meeting this morning to report on the chain of events since the bank's controlling shareholders asked him to step down by year-end. He has clarified that he will stay on the job until the end of his contract in 2010.

Steinitz's position in support of Zohar could prove crucial to the chairman's position, since the state owns 25% of the bank's stock. The supervisor of banks at the Bank of Israel, Rony Hizkiyahu, is also demanding that the bank's controlling shareholders follow proper procedure, explaining their grounds for wanting him out.

Today's board meeting will be the first since the demand for his removal became public. Should Zohar refuse to go, the Bronfman-Schron group would have to obtain the support of the board and the general assembly of shareholders in order to get rid of him.

The announcement this week took the supervisor of banks by surprise. Although the regulator has been aware of the controlling shareholders' dissatisfaction for months, it was in the dark about the timing and handling of the matter.

A representative on behalf of the Bronfman-Schron group has told the regulator that the group's goal is to refresh the bank's top management. .

In a statement issued Sunday, the central bank said it is unaware of any specific incident at the bank that has led the Bronfman-Schron group to seek Zohar's resignation.

Meanwhile, Discount already has somebody for the job: Joseph Bachar, formerly the director general of the Finance Ministry and author of the famous Bachar capital market reform.

The Bachar reform forced the banks to sell their holdings in mutual and provident fund management companies. Bachar was later tapped to keep the Tax Authority steady after top officials were suspended on allegations of corruption. He stayed in the post for a few months, saying he did not want it permanently.