During an introductory meeting with Finance Minister Smotrich, the heads of the banks today (Tuesday) referred to the legal reform.
Also, the CEO of Discount and the CEO of Bank Hapoalim also addressed the reform at the meeting.
Let's recall that the CEO of Discount Uri Levin participated in the protests against the reform, and the CEO of Bank Hapoalim Dov Kotler told the Prime Minister a few weeks ago that the bank is seeing a spillover of deposits abroad, and although Kotler was talking about small amounts, his words received resonance.
Asking to calm the spirits.
Minister of Finance Smotrich, photo: Spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance
Towards the end of the meeting, after Minister Smotrich had heard all the participants, he told them that the last thing that can be expected from the bankers is to participate in demonstrations and contribute to inflaming the spirits and extremism.
He stated that he is in favor of discourse and speech, but according to him, the bankers should understand that by making statements of this type they are contributing to extremism, and the more extremism there is, the more the discourse will move away, therefore the bankers are actually expected to calm the spirits and convey a message of reassurance and not make headlines that are like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Smotrich added that the economy is strong and there is no reason to add uncertainty that does not contribute to the market and the economy.
He also told the bankers: "You are talking about the destruction of democracy, where were you when they trampled on the democratic rights of all the residents of Gush Katif when they were evicted from their homes and did not give them time to find alternative housing, nor did they give them a stay and announced that they were evicting with all their might."
So, according to one of the factors.
A demonstration against the legal reform in Tel Aviv, photo: Koko
Bottom line, Smotritz clarified that he expects a banker to be conservative and cautious and there is no reason for bankers to make such statements.
Earlier in the meeting, Smotrich, the CEOs and chairmen of the banks brought up the economic issues on the table for discussion. The heads of the banks presented an up-to-date picture of the situation and trends in the real estate market were discussed.
Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich: "We will bring a responsible, growth-biased budget, which will include many reforms, we will not breach the budget frameworks and there will be no coalition funds in unusual amounts. The best thing we can do today for the public in Israel is to lower inflation. Economy is a world of expectations and the goal of all of us is to calm the discourse in the country.
"Israeli society is strong, the State of Israel will get through this crisis. The Israeli economy is strong, look also in comparison with other economies. The macro data of the Israeli economy are outstanding, not only our forecasts, but also those of the IMF and international institutions, and also compared to other countries. In the world of instability, the State of Israel should be an island of stability."
The meeting was attended by the Supervisor of Banks, Yair Avidan, as well as Bank Hapoalim CEO Dov Kotler, Bank Hapoalim Chairman Reuven Krupik, Bank Mizrahi Tefahot CEO Moshe Larry, Bank Mizrahi Tefahot Chairman Moshe Vidman, Discount Bank CEO Uri Levin, Discount Bank Chairman Shaul Kobrinsky, CEO of the International Bank Samdar Barber Tsadik, Chairman of the International Bank Ron Lebkowitz, CEO of the Bank of Jerusalem Yair Kaplan, CEO of HSBC Bank Israel Michael Israel and CEO of the Bank Association Eitan Madmon .
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