financial markets

On Sunday, November 14th, the Israeli government passed a resolution to finally reform its regressive financial markets. If ratified by the Knesset and implemented, despite the present political crisis, the reform will break up the destructive bank duopoly of Hapoalim and Leumi that has strangled the Israeli economy worse than did the banks in Japan.

Did you ever hear expert witnesses – reputable professionals – cast doubt on a matter they are so generously paid to advocate? Of course not. Expert witnesses are handsomely rewarded to deliver. Additional lucrative assignments would not materialize should they fail to be totally loyal to their clients’ cases.

So it is hardly surprising that the Promontory Financial Group members hired by Israeli banks to undermine the credibility of the governments’ Financial Reform Plan tried to do what they got paid to do. “We are hired because we are objective,” the four insisted. Let’s examine the evidence.

If anyone had doubts about the corrupting effects of the absolute economic and financial power our bank duopoly wields, the multi-million shekel campaign they have recently launched in an effort to block Netanyahu’s bold financial market reform, should remove them. The campaign has revealed to what length the bankers are willing to go in order to preserve a monopolistic system that has enriched them personally but has impoverished everyone else, a system that is responsible for most of the ills afflicting the Israeli economy.