Bank of Israel
Israeli-media coverage mentioning Bank of Israel, translated into English and compared across sources. 48 recent stories.
Bank of America Sees the Dollar Rebounding Against the Shekel
Bank of America says the dollar could gain about 5% against the shekel after opening long positions on the pair. The bank cites U.S. interest-rate policy and broader market volati…
Revolut nears Israeli banking license that could shake up the market
Revolut is close to getting a Bank of Israel “narrow bank” license that would let it add deposits and loans in Israel. The move could intensify competition against major banks, af…
How to Spot a Bubble, What Rate Cuts May Come Next, and Whether the Bank of Israel Makes Money
Episode 385 of Calcalist’s “Money Engines” answered listener questions about Israeli interest rates, Bank of Israel reserves, and how to spot bubbles. It also examined the AI mark…
ONE ZERO Tops Bank of Israel Satisfaction Survey
ONE ZERO ranked first in the Bank of Israel’s annual banking satisfaction survey, leading on recommendation, fairness and service measures. CEO Eyal Gafni said the results reflect…
Treasury Official Warns Israel Faces a Dangerous Postwar Debt Trap
Finance Ministry budget official Tamara Levi Banna warns that October 7 has made it politically harder to restrain defense spending. She says Israel risks a debt spiral unless the…
A Week of Court Battles, Welfare Warnings, Defense Tech, and Bank Fees
Israel’s weekly roundup covers a High Court dispute over the state comptroller vote, a warning that National Insurance could be insolvent by 2035, Anduril’s move into Israel, and…
AI-Led Exports Are Distorting Israel’s Growth Numbers, Economist Says
Economist Alex Zbezynski says Israel’s growth numbers are being distorted by a small number of AI-linked companies that develop in Israel but manufacture and sell abroad. He argue…
Why the Shekel Has Jumped Sharply, and Why 2026 Looks Different
The shekel’s sharp rise is being driven by a mix of global market gains and, increasingly in 2026, Israeli-specific factors. The biggest domestic forces are major tech exits, AI-l…
Investor Mortgages Surge as Buy-to-Let Buyers Get Stuck With Apartments
Bank of Israel data show investor mortgages have jumped more than 50% since early 2023, reaching a record 1.46 million shekels in May. The surge is tied to developers’ pre-sale pr…
Bank Supervisor Says Trading Fee Reform Should Let Competition Set Prices
Israel’s regulators have unveiled a securities trading fee reform that separates advice from management fees, adds flexible pricing options, and aims to make costs more transparen…
Israel’s 2025 Budget Gap Nears 100 Billion Shekels as War Costs and Debt Service Rise
Israel ended 2025 with spending of about 650 billion shekels and revenue of about 552 billion, creating a near 100 billion shekel deficit. War costs, rising debt service, and high…
Israeli Market Gains May Be Fading as Investors Rotate Back to the U.S.
The article says the Israeli stock market has weakened since early May as war-related and geopolitical tailwinds fade. It warns that foreign inflows, defense stocks, energy shares…
Regulators Move to Overhaul Bank Trading Fees After Record NIS 3.5 Billion Haul
Israel’s Bank of Israel, Securities Authority and Finance Ministry have published a three-stage plan to overhaul securities trading fees at the big banks. The reform aims to simpl…
One Zero raises fees, trims premium perks, especially in foreign exchange
One Zero will raise a range of fees on July 16, with the sharpest changes in foreign exchange and premium-plan benefits. The bank says the move is meant to reduce abuse of free se…
Israeli Consumers Largely Left Unprotected as Online Fraud and Retail Violations Surge
The State Comptroller says Israeli consumers face rising online fraud, weak local payment protections, and widespread supermarket violations. He blames severe budget cuts, underst…
Israeli Banks’ Hidden Investment Advice Fees Could Soon Be Exposed
A joint Israeli regulatory task force wants bank investment-advice fees made transparent, after finding banks earn hidden commissions through mutual fund charges. The plan could o…
State Failed to Control Israel’s Mortgage Market, Auditor Says
Israel’s State Comptroller says the country has lost control of its mortgage market, with weak regulation, hidden debt, and rising borrower costs. The report criticizes the Bank o…
Dollar Rebounds Toward NIS 3 as Institutional Investors Rebalance
The dollar has rebounded to around NIS 3 after falling to a 30-year low near NIS 2.8 in late May. Economists attribute the move to institutional portfolio rebalancing, geopolitica…
May 2026 sets record for average mortgage size taken by real estate investors
Bank of Israel data show that real estate investors took record-high average mortgages of 1.46 million shekels in May 2026. At the same time, mortgage arrears climbed to 4.45 bill…
Israel's Central Bank Tackles Bank Fees, but Critics Say the Real Problem Is Interest Rates
Israel's central bank is cutting rates again and moving to simplify bank account fees. The article welcomes the fee reform but says the real problem is high interest on loans, ove…
Israel’s Risk Premium Falls to a Three-and-a-Half-Year Low: What It Means
Israel’s risk premium fell to its lowest level in three and a half years, according to a Globes explainer. The article defines risk premium and CDS, and says the decline reflects…
Brought to Fit One City: How a Tax Break for Beersheba Is Being Tailored
A bill to grant Beersheba residents a 10% tax credit has been postponed in the ministerial committee, while lawmakers also move to expand Golan tax benefits. The article says the…
Bank of Israel kept buying foreign currency in early June as the shekel wobbles
The shekel weakened slightly at the start of the week after last week’s drop against the dollar, as markets tracked progress in U.S.-Iran talks. Israeli banks and economists point…
Israeli Banks Race to Meet 3 Billion Shekel Relief Commitment
Israel’s biggest banks have already distributed about 1.9 billion shekel under a voluntary three-year relief plan tied to their high profits. Bank Leumi is accelerating bonuses, w…
Israeli tech layoffs deepen as AI and a weak dollar squeeze companies
Israel’s tech sector is facing a deepening layoff wave, with nearly 6,000 jobs cut in May and about 8,500 since January. Executives and officials say weak dollar exchange rates, A…
AI and Tech Profits Push Israel’s Current Account Into Rare Deficit
Israel posted a $0.1 billion current account deficit in Q1 2026, its first since 2012, but the cause was record profits at tech and AI firms, not weak trade. Foreign direct invest…
Hewing the State Watchdog Into Place: A Fight Over Control, Not Procedure
The article says the High Court's handling of the State Comptroller reflects a wider political battle over control of institutions. It argues that the court is limiting the comptr…
May Index Warns of a Hotter Rental Market as Buying Slows and Tech Weakens
A May CBS reading showed a 0.8% monthly jump in housing services, the biggest May increase in 15 years. The article links rising rents to wartime demand, a shortage of protected a…
Lawyer Urges Interest-Free State Loans to Prevent Small Business Collapse
Israeli small businesses are drowning in debt, with Bank of Israel data showing non-financial business debt at a record 1.51 trillion shekels. Attorney Yosef Weitzman says the sta…
Justice Ministry advances bill to protect credit card fraud victims
Israel’s Justice Ministry is advancing a bill to broaden refund protection for credit card fraud victims, including cases where secret codes were obtained by deception. The propos…
Kevin Warsh ushers in a new Federal Reserve approach, with implications for markets and Israel
Kevin Warsh’s new leadership at the Federal Reserve is prompting a major shift in policy communication and analytical approach. The article says the changes could affect global ce…
Treasury Drafts Next Budget Push on Insurance Brokers, Tax Breaks, and New Levies
Israel’s Finance Ministry is preparing a major 2027 budget package that could revive reforms on insurance broker pay, financial regulation, and tax breaks. The ministry is also pl…
Tel Aviv stocks slip again as oil falls and markets digest Fed signals
Israeli stocks are set to open lower again after a 5% weekly drop, with weak local macro data, falling oil prices and negative arbitrage in dual-listed shares adding pressure. Mar…
Shimon Gershon Launches Digital Rent Guarantee Platform for Tenants
Shimon Gershon has launched Direct Guarantees, a digital rental-guarantee platform for tenants, backed by about 12 million shekels and already advertised on TV. The company says i…
Israel’s New Land Price Index Shows a 25% Drop Since Rate Hikes Began
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics has launched a new annual land price index that will track residential land sold in state tenders and the free market. The index shows land p…
Leaked U.S.-Iran Understanding Appears Far More Concessional to Tehran Than Washington Claimed
A reported U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding drew claims of an American retreat, which the White House denied, but the final text appears to give Iran major concessions. The a…
Former land authority chief says housing relief depends on building more, faster
Bentzi Lieberman says Israel’s housing crisis can only be solved by rapidly expanding supply, especially in the Galilee and Negev. He criticizes slow planning, poor service at the…
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Falls Alone as Global Markets Rally After U.S.-Iran Deal
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has fallen sharply since the U.S.-Iran agreement, even as global markets rallied on lower energy prices and improved sentiment. Analysts said Israeli s…
Bank Leumi to credit eligible customers with one-time 700 shekel bonus
Bank Leumi will pay eligible customers a one-time 700 shekel bonus in July 2026 under the Bank of Israel relief framework. The move, estimated to cost 150 million to 200 million s…
FIMI's Ishay Davidi criticizes Bank of Israel and backs Zim deal as a national security opportunity
FIMI founder and CEO Ishay Davidi criticized Bank of Israel interest-rate policy and said high rates and a strong shekel are hurting investment and exports. He also defended the Z…
Amid Slice fallout, Israel’s insurance regulator calls for stronger oversight of market power
Capital Market Authority chief Amit Gal said Israel will not allow Slice victims to be manipulated again, and argued for stronger oversight of powerful financial groups. He discus…
Banks Start Lowering Mortgage Rates as Bond Yields Fall
Falling Israeli government bond yields are already pushing mortgage rates lower at some banks. Analysts and advisers say borrowers may soon see smaller monthly payments, and that…
Mutual Hedge Funds Surge in Popularity, but a Legal Deadline and Market Risks Loom
Israel’s retail mutual hedge funds have grown rapidly since launching in April 2023, reaching about 6 billion shekels. Top funds have posted strong returns, but critics warn that…
Search committee member for Israel Land Authority chief drew millions from Housing Ministry
A search committee member who backed Yehuda Eliyahu for Israel Land Authority chief also heads a consulting firm that earned millions from the Housing Ministry. The government has…
Low Inflation Opens the Door to an Unusual Run of Rate Cuts
Israel’s softer-than-expected May inflation data has increased expectations that the Bank of Israel will cut rates, possibly in a rare sequence of three consecutive reductions. Ec…
Updated data shows Operation 'Roar of the Lion' hurt the economy more than first thought
Israel’s statistics bureau revised upward its estimate of the economic damage from March’s war with Iran, saying the loss reached 3.8% of GDP in the first quarter. The weaker grow…
Western Union to Buy Israeli Fintech GMT for About NIS 200 Million
Western Union has agreed to acquire Israeli fintech GMT for about NIS 200 million. GMT will join Western Union but keep its brand, and CEO Eran Saruk will remain in charge.
Smotrich Urges Bank of Israel to Cut Rates Sharply After Inflation Falls
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron to cut interest rates sharply after May CPI data showed a 0.3% monthly drop and 1.9% annual inflation. Y…