The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The bank's headquarters is located in

Kiryat HaMemshala Kiryat HaMemshala ( he, קריית הממשלה, ''lit.'' Government complex), also known as Kiryat Ben-Gurion, (''lit.'' Ben-Gurion complex) is the government precinct of the State of Israel. It is located in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jer ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with a branch office in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. The current governor is Amir Yaron. The primary objective of the Bank of Israel is to maintain

price stability Price stability is a goal of monetary and fiscal policy aiming to support sustainable rates of economic activity. Policy is set to maintain a very low rate of inflation or deflation. For example, the European Central Bank (ECB) describes price s ...

and the stability of the financial system in Israel. It also administers and implements

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often a ...

in Israel, conducts foreign exchange operations, supervises and regulates the banking system, takes care of the

foreign reserve Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence ...

s and operations of the financial market infrastructure. The Bank of Israel has, under Article 41 and 44 of its Statute, the exclusive right to issue

Israeli Shekel The new Israeli shekel ( he, שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ '; ar, شيكل جديد ; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel ( he, שקל ישראלי, ar, شيكل إسرائيلي), is the curre ...

banknotes and coins.

History

When Israel gained

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1948, the power of note issuance was vested with the

Anglo-Palestine Bank Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...

, which was refounded as

Bank Leumi Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...

in 1950. Monetary policy and banking supervision remained controlled by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

. The Bank of Israel was founded on 24 August 1954, when the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

passed the Bank of Israel Law, which ceded the currency issuing and regulatory functions of the Ministry of Finance to the newly formed bank. Control over foreign currency exchange was not given to the bank until 1978. The bank was made completely independent in 1985 and since 1992, the bank manages its monetary policy so as to meet the

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

target set by the Israeli government - which is today a range of between 1 and 3 percent per annum, considered as price stability. Additionally, the bank manages the country's Foreign Exchange Reserves. In 2010, the Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook.'Israel's economy most durable in face of crises', Ynet 05.20.2010
/ref> In March 2010, the Knesset approved a new Bank of Israel Law which took effect on 1 June 2010. The new law defines the goals of the bank and gives the bank independence in determining its policy tools and the way of implementing them. The law changed the framework in which major decisions are made at the Bank of Israel. Decisions regarding the interest rate and monetary policy, in general, are made by a Monetary Committee, while the managerial decisions are approved by a Supervisory Council. This brings the Bank of Israel more in line with the decision making procedures of other financial institutions.

Buildings

The current headquarters in Jerusalem was designed by the architecture office of

Arieh Sharon Arieh Sharon ( he, אריה שרון; May 28, 1900 – July 24, 1984) was an Israeli architect and winner of the Israel Prize for Architecture in 1962. Sharon was a critical contributor to the early architecture in Israel and the leader of the f ...

and his son, Eldar Sharon. They won the first prize for the project in 1966 and worked at the design until 1974. The building was inaugurated in 1981. The design resembles an inverted pyramid and was inspired by the

Boston City Hall Boston City Hall is the seat of city government of Boston, Massachusetts. It includes the offices of the mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. The current hall was built in 1968 to assume the functions of the Old City Hall. It is a cont ...

. The building underwent a major overhaul and renovation between 2015 and 2018.

Governors

David Horowitz David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer. He is a founder and president of the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website ''FrontPage Magazine''; and director of Disco ...

, 1954–1971 *

Moshe Sanbar Moshe Sanbar ( he, משה זנבר; March 29, 1926 – October 1, 2012) was an economist and Israeli public figure. He served as governor of the Bank of Israel during 1971–1976. Sanbar was born in Hungary, surviving the Second World War as a pr ...

, 1971–1976 *

Arnon Gafni The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) is the central bank of Israel. The bank's headquarters is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Jerusalem with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Amir Yaron. Th ...

, 1976–1981 * Moshe Mendelbaum, 1982–1986 * Michael Bruno, 1986–1991 *

Jacob A. Frenkel Jacob Aharon Frenkel ( he, יעקב אהרן פרנקל; born 8 February 1943) is an Israeli economist and the Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International. He served as Governor of the Bank of Israel between 1991 and 2000. Biography Frenkel was bor ...

, 1991–2000 * David Klein, 2000–2005 *

Stanley Fischer Stanley Fischer ( he, סטנלי פישר; born October 15, 1943) is an Israeli American economist who served as the 20th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fisher previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel fro ...

, 2005–2013 *

Karnit Flug Karnit Flug ( he, קרנית פלוג; born January 9, 1955) is a Polish-born Israeli economist and government official who served as the 9th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2013 to 2018. She was the first, and to date the only, woman to hold ...

, 2013–2018 * Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, acting governor from 14 November until December 24 2018. * Amir Yaron, 2018-present

References

External links

Bank of Israel website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank Of Israel

Isr Economy of Israel 1954 establishments in Israel Banks established in 1954 Finance in Israel Buildings and structures in Israel

History

Buildings

Governors

See also

References

Further reading

External links