Israel
Rating agencies criticize c bank reform
ISRAEL - Three leading international credit rating agencies have criticized the Finance Ministry's plans for reining in the independence of the Bank of Israel, but stopped short of saying it would affect the country's credit rating, The Jerusalem Post…
Central bank independence should be preserved-IMF
UK - The IMF on Wednesday criticised moves in Israel and Poland to limit the independence of their central banks.
Israel unveils plan to limit central bank powers
ISRAEL - Israel's Finance Ministry unveiled legislation Sunday to rein in the power of the central bank, with a monetary council appointed by the finance minister and a widening of the bank's goals to include growth and employment targets.
Klein defends rate rise, attacks gov't policy
ISRAEL - Bank of Israel Governor David Klein Friday vigorously defended his recent rate hike and accused the government of having little interest in running the economy, reports Dow Jones.
Bank of Israel Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Developments in the Foreign-Currency Market, 12 February.
Israeli regulators warn banks
ISRAEL - Israeli regulators warned commercial banks they looked to be inadequately covered against a surge in foreign-currency lending last year and urged them to tighten standards.
SocGen halt processing of checks from Israel banks
FRANCE - French bank Societe Generale SA (F.SGF) said Wednesday it has stopped accepting checks from its correspondent banks in Israel for a temporary period of two months amid the furore over an alleged money-laundering ring.
Bk of Israel say lawmakers try to politicise them
ISRAEL - Bank of Israel Governor David Klein accused legislators Thursday of trying to politicise the central bank with a bill that would water down his authority in setting interest rates.
Israel's regulatory easing
ARTICLE - Some $260 billion (290.39 billion euros) in Israeli financial assets is walled up inside the country by regulations, discriminatory taxes and investor conservatism, kept pacified by high domestic interest rates.
Bank of Israel head rules out intervention
ISRAEL - Despite the shekel's weakening to a record low against the dollar, Bank of Israel Governor David Klein said the central bank would not intervene in the foreign currency market.
Speech by David Klein of Israel's central bank
SPEECH - Prepared by David Klein, Governor of the Bank of Israel For the Euro Conference, Tel Aviv, 4 September.
Speech by David Klein governor of Bank of Israel
SPEECH - Speech prepared by David Klein, Governor of the Bank of Israel for A Government Discussion, 5 August.
Bank of Israel - Annual Report 2000
ANNUAL REPORT - The Bank of Israel, Foreign Currency Department, has published its Annual Report 2000.
The framework of Israel's economic policy for 2002
SPEECH - David Klein, Governor of the Bank of Israel, to The Financial Forum, Tel-Aviv, 11 July.
Sharon backs Klein and an independent Central Bank
ISRAEL - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has published a statement on 9 July expressing support for maintaining the independence of the Bank of Israel and for Governor David Klein, Ha'aretz reports.
Bank of Israel displeased with monetary panel plan
ISRAEL - The Bank of Israel is "not very happy" about government plans to appoint a monetary council to set interest rates, which would end Governor David Klein's position as sole policy maker, a central bank source said.
Israel central bank head urges more market change
ISRAEL - Bank of Israel Governor David Klein urged the government on 17 May to resume the process of making structural changes in Israel's financial markets so that the country could better compete in the global economy.
Klein to hold talks with Israel's prime minister
ISRAEL - David Klein, governor of the Central Bank of Israel is to meet with Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, in the next few days in an attempt to resolve the dispute which led Mr Klein to shelve a cut in interest rates at the end of April.
Bank of Israel strike postpones interest rate cut
ISRAEL - In an unprecedented move, the Bank of Israel said on Apr 22 that it would delay its May interest rate decision because an internal labour dispute has disrupted the flow of key statistical information and analsyis.
ISRAEL-New government's first steps-Klein speech
SPEECH - David Klein, governor of the Bank of Israel, gave a speech on Mar 23, 2001 titled "Economic Policy: The New Government's First Steps". He warns the new government to take heed from lessons from the past and not to expect too much from monetary…
Bank of Israel cuts April lending rate to 7.2%
ISRAEL - The Bank of Israel said on Mar 26, 2001 it was lowering its key lending rate to 7.2 percent in April 2001 from 7.5 percent in March, fractionally above market expectations of a 0.2 percentage point cut.
Gaby Fiszman made economic adviser to Israeli PM
New Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed on Mar 13, 2001, a Bank of Israel official as his economic adviser, a statement from his office said.
Israeli firms raised $4.3 billion abroad in 2000
Israeli companies raised a record $4.3 billion in offerings abroad in 2000, up from $3.4 billion in 1999, and Europe has become a strong alternative to Nasdaq and Tel Aviv, the Bank of Israel said on Feb 27, 2001.
Bank of Israel cuts lending rate by 0.2 pct point
The Bank of Israel said on Feb 26, 2001 it was lowering its key lending rate by 0.2 percentage points to 7.5 percent, its eighth straight monthly reduction and the 14th in the past 16 months.