Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's 100-days team is due to meet banking and industrial leaders to hear their views before formulating a plan to help struggling businesses in outlying areas. They will also discuss debt recycling. The meeting is slated to last two hours.
Participants will include Mizrahi Tefahot Bank president and CEO Eli Yones, Bank Leumi chairman Eitan Raff, Discount Bank chairman Shlomo Zohar, First International Bank president and CEO Smadar Barber-Zadok, Association of Banks in Israel executive director Moshe Perl, and former First International Bank chairman Joshua Rosenzweig. Strauss Group chairwoman Ofra Strauss and Tnuva chairwoman Zehavit Cohen may also attend.
The 100-days team will later meet Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh.
100-days team member Izzy Tapuchi, who has been tapped to be director general of the Prime Minister's Office, said that the team wants to hear from the bankers how they intend to deal with the economic crisis, while helping outlying areas.
Tapuchi said, "The meeting will focus on possible plans for helping and protecting jobs. We want to hear from the bankers how they can provide first aid to business in outlying areas, and how to build a joint plan to help businesses, the banking system, and, of course, citizens."
The meeting will first discuss recommendations, after which the 100-days team will write a position paper that it will submit to Netanyahu ahead of his own meeting with the bankers and corporate leaders.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 12, 2009
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