Bank of Israel Information and Statistics department

April 2012

The Information and Statistics Department

1. The Department's designation and principal functions: 2. Information managed at the Department: Information on the Financial/monetary system in Israel. Information on Real activity in the economy. Information on the Government's activity. Information on the External sector. 3. The legal basis. 4. The organizational structure of the Department.

1. The Department's designation and principal functions The Information and Statistics Department was established at the beginning of 2008 as part of the reorganization of the Bank. The department aspires to be a leading source of information on the Israeli economy, especially on financial activity and the financial sector. The department's principal objective is to provide the management of the Bank of Israel, the Monetary Committee and the bank's departments with data and information on economic activity in Israel at the quality, speed and volume necessary for enabling the bank to manage policy, achieve its objectives and fulfill its functions. Another objective of the department is to make the data and information at its disposal available to various entities in Israel and abroad (subject to secrecy and information security restrictions), in order to increase the transparency and efficiency of the economy and promote research on the economy. For this purpose, the department distributes data, information and reports via various channels, in particular via the Bank of Israel's web site. The department regularly issues press releases and other publications on this web site. 2. The information managed at the department:1 For the purpose of fulfilling its designated role and its functions, the department manages diverse information and data on economic activity in Israel, in such areas as: The financial and monetary system in Israel, including: interest rates and yields on financial instruments, activity in the foreign-currency market (transactions, trading volumes, sectors, prices, the effective exchange rate, spreads, risks), activity in the securities market (historical prices, issue volumes of capital and debt, trading turnover, and holdings by nonresidents and residents), the money market, the credit market, indicators of financial stability, the activity of the banks, institutional investors and other financial intermediaries, and the public's financial assets portfolio.

The data and information published on the bank's web site do not include all the information detailed here which is managed at the Information and Statistics Department at the Bank of Israel.

Bank of Israel Information and Statistics department

April 2012

Real activity in the economy, including: GDP, uses and principal industries, activity of the business sector and public companies, prices of commodities and services, and the labor market. Government activity, including: government revenue and expenditure, tax revenue, the deficit and the debt. External sector, including: the balance of payments, assets and liabilities (IIP), and the external debt.

The department collects and collates these data and items of information from various sources, including: reports from the banks, the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance, the Stock Exchange, the Securities Authority, other bodies and authorities, as well as information that is sent directly by business and other bodies in the economy. The data and information gathered and managed by the department are focused on the Israeli economy and the global environment affecting it, as a means of understanding the principal economic phenomena in the economy. In addition, the department establishes and maintains information systems, develops and applies methods for processing and presenting data and information and distributes within and outside the bank data, information and reports by means of various channels. Among other items, the department regularly publishes data, statistics and press releases on the Bank of Israel's web site. Due to the processes involved, most of the department's resources are allocated to this current management of data and information, while a minor part of its resources is allocated to the development of information infrastructures.

3. The legal basis for the department's activity The legal basis for the collection of data at the Bank of Israel is derived from the bank's functions, which are defined in a number of items of legislation, including: The Bank of Israel Law, 5770-2010. The Banking Ordinance, 1941. The Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981. The Payments Systems Law, 5768-2008. By virtue of the bank's functions in accordance with the said items of legislation, the bank has the authority to required information from various bodies. 4. The organizational structure of the department The organizational structure of the department reflects the focus on the customer's requirements (the Customer Relations Division) separately from the process of management of statistics (the Statistics Division), with the aim of creating centers of professional specialization (by content areas at the department).

Bank of Israel Information and Statistics department

April 2012

Organizational Structure - The Information and Statistics Department

Director of the Department Tsahi Frankovitz

Methodology & Economics Dr. Benzi Schreiber

Customers Relation Division Yair Haim Financial & Real Area Shelly Reiss Barel

Statistics Division Gabi Fiszman Assistant Manager of the Department Foreign Currency Market Eli Kadosh Capital Market, Banking & Insurance Michal Ohana

PMO Avi Schwartz

The Statistical Portal & Public Liaison Aviel Shpitalnik

National Statistics Yehiel Rehavi