---
category: Private Organization
location: Tel Aviv, Israel
start: 1902
summary: Bank Leumi is Israel's oldest and one of its largest banks, whose American
  branch board included Walworth Barbour, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, after
  his 1973 retirement.
tags:
- Organization
- Finance
- Israel
---

Bank Leumi is an Israeli state bank. After his retirement in 1973, [Walworth Barbour](/people/walworth-barbour/), the former American ambassador to [Israel](/places/israel/), agreed to become a board member of its American branch. This decision, while not illegal, was seen by many [State Department](/organizations/state-department/) officials as posing an obvious conflict of interest.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12.