Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron: “The establishment of a business credit data register joins a series of steps that are have led in the past few years for small and medium businesses, which are an important part of the backbone of the Israeli economy. The sharing of business credit data is expected to lead to an increased supply of credit to small and medium businesses, increase efficiency in providing this type of credit, and increase competition in this market.”
The credit data sharing system, which is based on a consumer Credit Data Register that the Bank of Israel established, and which has operated since April 2019, is a project of national importance that is intended to minimize information gaps between credit providers regarding existing customers, and thereby to increase competition and accessibility in the consumer credit market. Research conducted on data in the Register provides an initial indication of the Register’s contribution to narrowing gaps in credit prices (Report to the Knesset on Implementation of the Credit Data Law for 2020, May 23, 2021, and Report to the Knesset on Implementation of the Credit Data Law for 2021, April 13, 2022).
In June 2021, the Bank of Israel submitted a strategic plan to the government[1], which contained a recommendation to examine the development of a financial information sharing mechanism through a dedicated credit register for small and medium businesses in order to improve access to credit for such businesses and increase competition in this area. Further to that recommendation, and after a long and in-depth examination of all the relevant considerations, as well as discussions with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant parties and insights from the progress in the “MESILA” project[2], the Governor of the Bank of Israel decided to use the authorities granted to him by law and to expand the existing Register to include credit data on corporations and not just individuals.
This decision is complementary to the creation of the MESILA database, which will help the Bank of Israel fulfill its functions, including the setting and conduct of monetary policy, supporting the stability of the financial system, and supervising the banking system.
Once the rules necessary for expanding the existing database to include corporate credit data are formulated, the Governor will hold consultations with the Minister of Justice, and will bring those rules to the Knesset Economics Committee for approval as set out in the law. This is in parallel to advancing legislative amendments that may be necessary to adapt the law’s provisions to the dedicated objectives of the database, including the expansion of information sources and uses, so that it will serve both the objective of sharing information on credit data of small and medium businesses and the objective of creating an itemized database for fulfilling the Bank of Israel’s functions in an optimal and efficient manner.
[1] “Four Recommended Pillars of Strategic Government Action to Accelerate Economic Growth and a Fiscal Framework for Financing Them”, www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/16-6-21.aspx
[2] See press release “Bank of Israel Establishes a Dedicated Statistical Database on Business Credit at an Itemized Level (MESILA)”, July 1, 2021 (in Hebrew).