| 8.5.2006 |
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| The Bank of Israel publishes its Financial Statements for 2005 |
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| The Bank of Israel's balance sheet as of December 31, 2005 totaled about NIS 139 billion, compared with NIS 129 billion on December 31, 2004, an increase of about NIS 10 billion (7 percent). On the assets side, this increase is attributed to an increase of some NIS 13.5 billion in the foreign exchange reserves in NIS terms, partly offset by a decline in most other items. The increase on the liabilities side came from several items: banknotes and coins in circulation rose by NIS 4 billion, deposits of banking corporations (current accounts and others) increased by NIS 3.2 billion. Balances of the main instruments of monetary policy––Makam (short-term bills issued by the Bank of Israel for purposes of monetary management) and Pazak (time deposits)––were almost unchanged, although the switch to the former, which rose by about NIS 12 billion, from the latter, which declined by a similar amount, continued. |
| In the Profit and Loss Account, the Bank moved from a loss of about NIS 0.8 billion in 2004 to a profit of NIS 1.4 billion in 2005. This improvement was accounted for primarily by the rise of almost NIS 1 billion in income from realized exchange-rate differentials, a rise of NIS 0.8 billion in interest income from the foreign exchange reserves and a drop of NIS 0.8 billion in expenses on operating monetary instruments. On the other hand, net income from government deposits fell by NIS 0.4 billion. |
| A one-time adjustment, as required by Accounting Standard 12 of the Israel Accounting Standards Board, was made to the financial statements for 2005. |
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| The Financial Statements are expected to be available in English in the near future. |
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