The Bank of Israel operates several programs to deal with liquidity difficulties that have adversely impacted the financial system due to the COVID-19 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 possibility of carrying out repo transactions with the Bank of Israel, which was offered, against the background of the COVID-19 crisis, to institutional investors and nonbank credit providers, concluded at the end of 2021.

 

Following is a monthly update on the balances in the programs that were put into operation, as of December 31, 2021:

 

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],3

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

October 22, 2020

July 5, 2021

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

December 31, 2020

1.5

0.0

46.2

3.5

19.6

January 31, 2021

1.5

0.0

50.4

3.5

22.7

February 28, 2021

0.8

0.0

54.8

3.5

25.0

March 31, 2021

0.5

0.0

58.9

3.5

28.1

April 30, 2021

0.5

0.0

62.3

3.5

31.6

May 31, 2021

0.5

0.0

65.3

3.5

34.2

June 30, 2021

0.5

0.0

68.6

3.5

37.2

July 31, 2021

0.5

0.0

71.7

3.5

40.0

August 31, 2021

0.5

0.0

75.0

3.5

40.0

September 30, 2021

0.5

0.0

76.9

3.5

40.0

October 31, 2021

0.5

0.0

80.1

3.5

40.0

November 30, 2021

0.5

0.0

83.5

3.5

40.0

December 31, 2021

0.1

0.0

85.0

3.5

40.0

 


[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. Within the framework of this program, the new pillar—which was decided upon on October 22, 2020—began to operate as well, through which the loans are for 4 years at an interest rate of -0.1 percent.

3 In accordance with the Monetary Committee’s decision of July 5, 2021, the program providing long-term loans to the banking system against credit extended to small and micro businesses will end on October 1, 2021 or when a total of NIS 40 billion in credit has been extended through the plan.​

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