Bank Leumi: margin guidance assumes a curve that is not there

The transmission is asset repricing. Fixed-rate assets reprice on a schedule set years ago, so the margin path is largely determined by the maturity ladder rather than by anything management does this year. The maturity ladder is disclosed. The share of the book repricing in the next twelve months is materially lower than in the prior year, which caps how fast asset yields can rise. The position: short on Bank Leumi, entry locked at publication and the exit dated rather than open-ended. The target is stated in the call block above and the horizon with it. Sized to the catalyst rather than to conviction, with the invalidation written into the kill-switch card instead of left implicit. A credit cycle would overwhelm the operating leverage argument entirely, and expense discipline is the first thing to break when revenue falls.