Victor Medina, 74, is back and strongly in the race to become the next Governor of the Bank of Israel. He today submitted a request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the candidacy forms for the Turkel committee on public appointments. Sources also inform "Globes" that he conferred today with Minister of Finance Yair Lapid. He already discussed his candidacy with Netanyahu several days ago.
Medina was Deputy Governor of the Bank of Israel in the 70s and 80s under Michael Bruno. He has also served as director general of the ministry of finance and CEO of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF).
In 2005 he was one of the leading candidates for Governor. Fischer got the nod but Medina was involved in an embarrassing episode when he received a NIS 14 million retirement grant from Mizrahi Tefahot without notifying the public even though the bank is publicly traded. With the governorship barred to him he became chairman of Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL).
Earlier this week Medina's candidacy seemed unrealistic due to his advanced age but he is now considered one of the leading candidates. A source close to the prime minister said, "Medina's chances are no less than those of Blejer and Eckstein and perhaps greater."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2013
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