UMB Bank and Trust Company, a subsidiary of Israel’s fourth largest bank, United Mizrahi Bank, has managed to cope with several problems unique to a bank which follows Orthodox Jewish principles. Jewish law, for instance, specifies that “usury” (interest) may not be charged on loans. But without interest, a bank cannot survive financially. So UMB had to sign a Hebrew document that provides a dispensation from the Jewish usury laws. The document, signed in New York, is now displayed in the UMB’s Rockefeller Center offices. Another problem, said Moshe Krausz, UMB’s president, is that the bank is closed on Jewish holidays. Yet, the bank has almost $30 million in assets.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
