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Barry Topf, Senior Advisor to the Governor on Monetary Policy Issues and member of the Monetary Committee since its establishment in 2011, has announced his resignation after serving 30 years at the Bank of Israel. During the past two years he has served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. Topf is expected to step down by December 2013. The precise date will be set after a new Governor is appointed, in order to provide continuity in the role, and an orderly and complete transfer of his duties. In his letter to the Governor, Topf noted, “I will work to the best of my ability until my resignation, and afterwards as well, to assist the Bank of Israel in fulfilling its functions, as I attempted to do during all my years of working at the Bank.”
Topf began working at the Bank of Israel more than 30 years ago, and served as a member of the Bank’s management for over 10 years. Before he was appointed as Director of the Market Operations Department in 2008, he served for 7 years as the Director of the Foreign Currency Department. In his role at the Bank of Israel, he also serves as a member of the Israel Securities Authority. Since 1994, he has served as an expert consultant at the International Monetary Fund, and in the past has also served as a Director of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and as a member of the Ariav Committee to Develop the Capital Markets in Israel.
Governor of the Bank of Israel Professor Stanley Fischer thanked Barry Topf for his long and dedicated service to the Bank of Israel and for his important contribution to Israel’s economy. The Governor said, “Barry is among the mainstays of the Bank of Israel and has been a full partner in the Bank’s transformation to a modern institution which operates successfully in international markets. Barry played a central role in the planning and implementation of the Bank of Israel’s response to the financial crisis which began in 2008, including the plan to increase foreign exchange reserves and the bank's interventions in the foreign exchange market, the plan to purchase government bonds, and the injection of liquidity into the banking system. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his essential contribution to developing the foreign exchange market in Israel and formulating exchange rate policy, as well as his contribution to monetary policy through his active participation as a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee since its establishment in 2011.”
Barry Topf holds an MBA, with distinction, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His achievements during his years at the Bank include the shekel’s entry into the CLS international clearing system, the establishment of the Market Operations Department as part of the Bank’s reorganization, the establishment of the Bank’s Representative Office in New York, the introduction of new methods for managing the foreign exchange reserves, and the inclusion of new currencies and assets in the portfolio.