Staying Real in Israel
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When Stanley Fischer immigrated to Israel from America in 2005, it was one of the best things that could have happened…both for the Jewish State AND for Stanley Fischer. Israel gained one of the top financial minds in the world to run the Bank of Israel and Fischer got to live in his homeland and raise his family in the best place in the world for Jews. We can only hope that he takes on another 5-year term as governor…

Money managers: Stanley Fischer

Will Stanley Fischer stay on for a second term as governor of the Bank of Israel? A cool 100% of the investment managers polled by the CFO Forum said they hoped so.

Haaretz.com

The question posed by the forum of money managers was, “Do you think that it would be good for the Israeli economy if Prof. Stanley Fischer accepts a second term as governor of the Bank of Israel?” All said yes.

The survey was conducted on February 21, and polled 120 top money managers in corporate Israel. Among the respondents, 42% belong to companies with annual turnovers greater than $200 million, 44% work for companies with turnovers ranging from $40 million to $200 million, and the rest work for companies with revenues below $40 million.

Fischer joined the Bank of Israel on May 1, 2005. Under the law, his tenure is limited to five years, meaning his contract expires on May 1, 2010. Government officials have been sending feelers to Fischer to see if he’d agree to stay: So far he hasn’t issued any statements. Meanwhile, ahead of that date, the CFOs Forum, representing 650 money managers in corporate Israel, decided to check and see how they feel about his performance.

In answer to the question, “Did Prof. Fischer’s policy contribute to the State of Israel’s ability to cope with the global economic crisis?”, zero checked the “Not at all” square; one, or 0.8% of respondents, answered that he contributed “a little” and 26% said that it “contributed.” The majority, 73%, answered that it “contributed greatly”.

Looking at the CFOs Forum surveys over the years, Fischer has been a resounding success throughout. From the start of his term in 2005 to date, their respect for the Bank of Israel has constantly increased, while respect for other economic policy-makers has sharply declined.