"We cannot allow a bank failure in Israel. The economy is small and the contagion could cause the financial system to collapse. Our goal at the Bank of Israel is to preserve all Israeli banks," said Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu at TheMarker conference today. He was the keynote speaker at the banking panel.
Hizkiyahu added, "The 9% capital adequacy ration is the safety cushion that enables the banks to survive during the current crisis." He said that the conservatism of Israel's banks and the fact that they did not extend credit overseas contributed to the stability of the banking system.
Hizkiyahu said, "One of the risks to the banking system is Israeli customers with international business who borrowed money from Israeli banks. The banks are also extensively exposed to the Israeli and foreign capital markets.
"We haven’t reached the bottom of the financial crisis, and the crisis in the real economy will be protracted. The sale of companies and the ending of aid by central banks around the world will be no less complicated than the granting of aid packages."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 8, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008