Bank of Israel Gov. Llein Before Knesset Finance Committee
(Communicated by Bank of Israel Spokesman)
Jerusalem, January 19, 2000
Following are comments made by Bank of Israel Governor David Klein
to the Knesset Finance Committee today (Wednesday, 19.1.2000):
The main challenge now before us in monetary policy is to
consolidate the significant achievement of lowering inflation -
including imparting the norms of decision-making in a low
inflationary environment. For some time now, interest rates have
been gradually declining, with the objective being to maintain the
current inflationary environment. In the framework of this interest
rate policy, it is worthwhile to take into account expected
developments in global interest rates - which affect the reduction
in the difference between interest rates in Israel and abroad - and
changing trends in financial assets portfolios held by the public,
both Israeli citizens and foreign residents. It should be noted in
this context that the rise in the weight of unlinked shekel assets
and stocks, at the expense of assets linked to either exchange rates
or the CoL index reflects increasing public trust in the policy to
reduce inflation and maintain it at a low level.
The Bank of Israel's interest rate policy is not only expressed by
the monthly decision on the nominal interest rate, but mainly by the
way the public derives its future, longer term, interest rate
decisions based on that rate. Interest rate policy should transmit
to the public a message that the road to reducing interest rates
must be consistent with the inflation target set by the government.
Israel's inflation environment is closer than ever to that defined
as price stability, i.e. the level of inflation current in the
developed world. Israel's rate of inflation must be comparable to
inflation in developed economies. This is crucial for a successful
integration into the global economy and is a condition for sustained
growth.
The evaluation of inflation cannot be based on a calendar period,
but has to be based on an analysis of long-term inflationary trends.
1999 - which concluded with a low rate of inflation of 1.3%
resulting from the negative indices in the first half of the year -
and 1995, which had a rate of inflation of 8% and an annual rate of
15% in the second half of that year, demonstrate this point well.
It is important that the government's inflation target be a
multi-year target, especially given the fact that the global
financial markets by their very nature may undergo very rapid and
unexpected changes affecting local prices. A system of multi-year
inflation targets would not require drastic increases in interest
rates to guarantee stability caused by sudden sharp price increases
such as those that occurred in the last months of 1998, as would be
necessary under an annual inflation target. Setting a two-year
inflation target by the government is an important step in this
direction. At the moment, it is important that the target for the
coming two years be set by the second half of the year in order to
allow greater flexibility in the management of monetary policy.
The Bank of Israel's monetary committee would be important on the
condition that it is anchored in the amendments to the central bank
law based on global norms as recommended by the Levin Committee. Any
partial legislation that deals with the monetary committee only
would harm the Bank of Israel's ability to function. Therefore, the
new Bank of Israel Law must include the four components recommended
by the Levin Committee - and which characterize central bank laws
across the world - as a single composite act, as the Committee
recommended. The components are: Defining the Bank of Israel's main
objective as achieving and maintaining long-term price stability;
increasing the Bank's transparency and reporting to the government,
Knesset and public; establishing a monetary committee headed by the
governor and whose members are experienced professionals from the
relevant fields, independent and without conflicts of interest and
whose full and sole responsibility is to the Bank of Israel's
targets.