The Bank of Israel operates several programs to deal with liquidity difficulties that have adversely impacted the financial system due to the coronavirus crisis, to ensure the proper functioning of the financial markets, to ease the terms of credit in the economy, and to support economic activity and financial stability.

 

The following is a monthly update on the balances in the programs that were put into operation, as of November 30, 2020:

 

 

Repo transactions with bonds as collateral[1]

Dollar-shekel swaps

Government bond purchases

Corporate bond purchases

Long-term loans to the banking system for providing credit to small businesses[2]

Date announced by the Bank of Israel

March 15, 2020

March 18, 2020

March 23, 2020

October 22, 2020

July 6, 2020

April 6, 2020

July 6, 2020

Balance as of:

NIS billion

$ billion

NIS billion

NIS billion

NIS billion

March 31, 2020

5.5

7.5

8.5

-

 

April 30, 2020

1.8

7.5

13.2

-

1.2

May 31, 2020

1.6

6.8

19.2

-

4.6

June 30, 2020

1.5

4.5

23.4

-

4.6

July 31, 2020

1.5

0.0

23.9

0.6

4.6

August 31, 2020

1.5

0.0

29.9

0.9

8.7

September 30, 2020

1.5

0.0

33.6

2.1

12.2

October 31, 2020

1.5

0.0

37.0

3.1

13.8

November 30, 2020

1.5

0.0

41.6

3.5

16.3

 

The first allocation of the new pillar of the program to ease terms of credit to small and micro businesses—within the framework of which loans will be extended at a fixed rate of -0.1 percent against loans that the banks provide to small businesses at an interest rate that does not exceed Prime + 1.3 percent—will be made on December 24, 2020 and will be based on reports by the banks regarding the credit extended in November.

 


[2] In accordance with the Monetary Committee’s decision of April 6, 2020, the Bank of Israel provided the banking system with 3-year, fixed-rate loans, with the goal of increasing the supply of credit to small and micro businesses. The program was operated first until the end of May and was renewed in August.

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