Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu yesterday announced banking measures to help war-affected families in the south. The measures are a direct consequence of lessons learned from 2006 Second Lebanon War.
The Bank of Israel relaxed Directive 325 that forbids individuals from exceeding credit frameworks. Private customers who reside in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip will be allowed to exceed their overdraft limit by NIS 5,000, instead of NIS 1,000. Business customers will be allowed to exceed their overdraft limits by 10%.
Hizkiyahu also relaxed regulations applying to bounced checks. "There is no problem at the moment, and there is even a decline in the number of returned checks," he noted.
Hizkiyahu stressed that financial services in the south are operating normally, and only three bank branches have been closed because they lack proper shelters.
In separate developments, banks have announced reduced-interest loans and mortgage banks have suspended mortgage payments for three months.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 6, 2009
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