The international magazine “Central Banking” has announced that the Bank of Israel has won the magazine's 2025 award in the Communication category, thanks to its efforts in making banking information more accessible to the public in recent years.
Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron, said: “This award is another layer in the international recognition that the Bank of Israel is receiving. It reflects the bank's innovative initiatives, which include publishing rich and relevant banking information at the individual bank level. The publication of comparative information helps strengthen the customer's power and ability to make informed decisions by examining all the data in a simple, accessible, and convenient manner, thereby increasing competition in the banking system. I thank the professional teams at the bank for their important work on this matter.”
The processes led by the bank in recent years that contributed to the award include:
As part of the many consumer reforms that the Bank of Israel has advanced in recent years, various tools have been developed to increase the transparency and accessibility of banking information, even at the individual bank level, through an “Internet dashboard” for the general public. The banking information is presented in an accessible and easy-to-understand language and in a user-friendly format. The publication of the “dashboards” began in 2022, alongside the process of raising the interest rate. In October 2022, the Banking Supervision Department started making comparative information on interest rates accessible for the first time, aiming to improve the public's ability to compare deposit and credit products from different banks. In 2023, the publication of interest rate data was expanded to include current account data and credit card activity data. During that year, a financial statement dashboard and a mortgage interest rate comparison dashboard were also launched. Toward the end of 2023, the Bank of Israel launched an “Equalizer” project on its website, bringing together the tools that provide comparative information, as well as various guides and tools for public use. At the end of 2024, a new comparison tool was launched, allowing users to view the results of banking customer satisfaction surveys, locate branches and ATMs, and access additional comparative banking information on fees and interest rates.
It should be noted that the expansion of the project and presentation of the data are done with attention to public feedback, emerging needs, and the changing environment. In their award statement, the judges also praised the Bank of Israel's intention to continue developing these areas in the future.