NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 16, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus/'A-2' certificate of deposit rating and single-'A'-minus long-term counterparty and 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit ratings to Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. (Leumi), Israel's second-largest bank. The outlook is stable. The ratings are based on a sound financial profile and banking franchise that controls more than 30% of the Israeli banking market. A sizable international component provides trade-related finance and private banking to indigenous Jewish populations in Europe, the U.S., and Latin America. This international network has also proven to be a strong deposit-gathering base. As a universal bank, Leumi provides a broad spectrum of financial products and services including asset management, mutual funds, retirement plans through provident
