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Highlights Of The Bank Of Israel Work Plan For 2026

The Bank of Israel today published the main points of its work plan and the budget for its administrative activity for 2026. The Bank of Israel’s Supervisory Council[1] discussed the Bank’s annual work plan, approved the Bank’s annual budget for administrative activity, and submitted the budget to the Knesset Finance Committee, as required by the Bank of Israel Law, 5770–2010.

 

The Bank’s work plan and budget for 2026 incorporate measures to achieve the Bank’s strategic targets alongside steps to provide a response to the unique challenges facing the Israeli economy, in accordance with developments, changes, and risks in the global and Israeli economies. The work plan includes broad activity in many areas, in accordance with the Bank’s statutory functions, as listed below.

 

  • Conducting monetary policy;
  • Strengthening and managing the country’s foreign currency reserves;
  • Supporting the proper functioning of the foreign exchange market in Israel;
  • Serving as banker of the government;
  • Regulating the payment and settlement systems in the economy, with the aim of ensuring their efficiency and stability;
  • Issuing currency, and regulating and directing the cash system in the economy;
  • Supervising and regulating the banking system;
  • Establishing and managing the Credit Data Register and supervising and regulating the credit data system;
  • Managing the assets of the Citizens of Israel Fund (the fund managing the State’s revenue from the impost on profits from natural gas and oil).

 

All of these are in addition to the Governor serving as Economic Advisor to the Government, including with regard to reducing social gaps and inequality in income distribution in society.

The Bank’s budget

 

The Bank of Israel's budget relates to the Bank’s administrative activity necessary for performing its functions and achieving its targets.

 

In accordance with the Bank of Israel Law, the Bank of Israel's budget is divided into several areas of activity: 1) Management and Central Services (the expenditure budgets of the entities that deal with the management of the Bank and with the provision of services and support); 2) Performance of the Bank’s functions (the expenditure budgets of the core departments); 3) Pensions; 4) Investments; 5) Revenues; 6) Reserve; 7) Issuing currency; 8) Managing the assets of the Citizens of Israel Fund, and 9) Credit Data System.

 

The Bank of Israel’s activity in 2025 was impacted by the war that began on October 7, 2003, and the broad mobilization of employees for reserve duty. Despite the lack of manpower, the Bank of Israel initiated and led numerous activities and programs for the benefit of the economy in view of the unexpected reality and the uncertainty regarding the war and its intensity on the various fronts.  The Bank worked to ensure the proper functioning of the financial markets; led banking programs to make it easier for reservists and other population groups who were harmed by the war; served as a main source of economic advice to the government and had a tremendous impact on the design of fiscal policy; ensured the continued efficient operation of the payment and cash systems; and worked to ensure the business continuity of the bank and its departments.

 

During 2025, the Bank of Israel launched its strategic plan for the coming years.  The strategy deals with the Bank’s core monetary, financial, and macroeconomic aspects.  It also deals with the advancement and cultivation of the Bank’s human resources, the promotion of innovation, the adoption of advanced technologies, and intraorganizational streamlining.

 

The strategy will serve as an anchor for the Bank’s activities in the coming years, and will help in the more efficient allocation of the organization’s resources and in focusing efforts and actions on advancing targets that are important for the Bank of Israel’s activity and for the country’s economy.  The implementation of the strategy will ensure the Bank’s ability—as a leading public institution—to continue making a meaningful and decisive contribution to the Israeli economy in the coming years.

 

The proposed budget for 2026 strikes a balance between the bank’s desire and need to initiate, improve, and develop, and the necessity to exercise exceptional caution in making decisions regarding expenditures and projects during this complex period, while maintaining a disciplined and responsible budgetary framework.

 

The Bank of Israel’s overall budget for 2026 totals NIS 1,333.3 million and is 2.5 percent higher than in 2025. The Bank’s budget excluding the issuance of currency, managing the assets of the Citizens of Israel Fund for natural gas profits, and the Credit Data System for 2026 totals NIS 1,108.4 million, an increase of 3.5 percent compared to 2025.

 

 

The following are the main changes in the Bank of Israel’s budget for 2026:

 

Investments: The investments activity area (excluding the credit data system) will total NIS 100.3 million in 2026, an increase of NIS 21.7 million (27.7 percent) relative to 2025.  The increase in 2026 is due to continuing projects as well as a number of new strategic projects in the Bank’s core areas, technology, and infrastructure, and in supporting operational areas.

 

Reserve:  The Bank’s reserve budget will be NIS 39.2 million in 2026, an increase of NIS 6.2 million (18.9 percent) relative to 2025.  The changing situation and uncertainty in the external environment make it even more important to maintain budgetary flexibility.  In view of this, and as part of the Bank’s efforts to tighten its budget, this item has increased.

 

Managing the assets of the Citizens of Israel Fund: The budget for the Citizens of Israel Fund Management Department will be NIS 10.6 million in 2026, an increase of NIS 1.5 million (16.3 percent) relative to 2025.  In accordance with the Citizens of Israel Fund Law, 5774–2014, a Fund was established to manage the State’s revenues from the oil and gas profit levy, called the Citizens of Israel Fund (hereinafter: “the Fund”).  The Fund’s purpose is to manage the State’s revenues from the levy with a long-range economic perspective in order to maximize the return and with the objective of enabling future generations to benefit from the income in respect of this natural resource.  The Fund’s assets are being managed through a dedicated department established at the Bank of Israel, and through the Fund’s institutions (the Fund’s Council and Investment Committee) that were established in 2022.

 

The Fund’s institutions outline the investment policy, and actual investment activity is carried out by the dedicated department at the Bank of Israel.  The increase in the Fund’s budget is mainly due to an increase in the wage budget in this activity area, in view of the Department being in the establishment stages in these years.

 

Credit Data System: In April 2019, the Credit Data System was launched for the public, in accordance with the Credit Data Law, 5776–2016. The “Credit Data System” budget reflects the cost of a range of activities required by law, and will be NIS 89.5 million in 2026 a decrease of NIS 4 million (4.2 percent) relative to 2025. Among other things, the budget includes planning for the “Credit Register for Businesses” project, which is expected to be a complex project with particularly high costs that will contribute significantly to increased access to credit for businesses and the competition in the Israel economy.

 

Budget for the coming years: The budget for permitted commitments for the coming years is NIS 762.0 million, 7.5 percent smaller than in the 2025 budget. Of that, 29 percent is designated for future commitments in respect of the printing money, 27 percent is for future initiatives in the reserve budget, and 18 percent is for the Credit Data Register.

 

The administrative activities budget does not include revenues and expenses resulting from the implementation of monetary tools, the provision of credit to banking corporations and to other financial institutions, activities related to managing liquidity in the economy, investment of the foreign exchange reserves, etc. Such revenues and expenses are reflected in the Bank of Israel's financial statements and in the Bank’s Report on the Investment of the Foreign Exchange Reserves.

 

 

 

 

Table 1: The Bank of Israel’s Budget for 2026

(financial data in NIS thousand)

 

 

2026

2025 budget

 

Budget

Permitted commitments for coming years

Personnel ceiling

 

 

2024 budget performance

Bank of Israel

= = = =  = = =

1,333,318

= = = = =

762,031

= = = = =

976.4

= = = = =

1,301,420

= = = = =

1,131,312

= = = = =

01

Management and Central Services

326,496

74,285

387.2

319,669

284,033

02

Performance of the Bank’s functions

318,655

21,855

503.7

317,004

285,500

04

Pensions

335,980

186

 

332,086

312,475

05

Investments

100,267

103,185

 

78,530

67,225

06

Revenues

(12,270)

 

 

(9,381)

(10,055)

07

Reserve

39,235

207,266

10

33,000

 

Total excluding Currency issue, Managing the Citizens of Israel Fund, and the Credit Data System

1,108,364

406,777

900.9

1,070,908

939,178

08

Currency issue

124,810

219,410

 

127,892

107,407

09

Managing the Citizens of Israel Fund

10,599

2,321

15

9,115

5,934

10

Credit data system

89,546

133,524

60.5

93,505

78,794

 

 

[1] Under the Bank of Israel Law, 5770–2010, the Supervisory Council is the entity charged with supervising the administrative activity of the Bank of Israel. The Supervisory Council consists mostly of members from among the public.