Fischer says banks under close supervision; advises public against making "hasty" decisions.
By JPOST.COM STAFFstanley fischer 3 88 224(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Israel's banks are very strong and doing well, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said Friday evening.
In an exclusive interview to Channel 2, Fischer noted that the nation's banking system was under close watch. "The supervisor of banks is following daily developments; we're in touch," he said.
Asked whether individuals who pulled money out of their pension funds and stock holdings these past two days had acted wisely, Fischer replied only that he'd advise the nation's bank customers not to take hasty steps.
He urged customers to consider the long-term consequences of their decisions. On Friday morning, he said, world markets had already risen some six to seven percent, and therefore anyone who had rushed to withdraw savings had "lost" that percent.
Fischer praised the steps taken by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to stem the tidal wave of Wall Street losses. "He's addressing the crisis very well. It's one of the most complicated situations [for the finance industry] in the last 60 years," he said of his former student.
The BOI head did venture to say that it had been clear to him a few months ago that a crisis was looming in the US and dramatic steps had to be taken to remove the banks' "problematic" holdings. "Now, the changes I thought needed to be made have been made," he said.
Fischer reiterated that while Israel's bank customers had no reason to be concerned about the safety of their investments, he couldn't be complacent. "I'm paid for being worried. We need to be ready to take care of problems. I'm the national worrier. [But] our situation is very good," he stressed.
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