Bank of Israel

What Bank of Israel does

The Bank of Israel, established in 1954, is the central bank of the State of Israel and serves as the country's monetary authority. Headquartered in Jerusalem with 251–500 employees, it operates under government ownership with operational independence, with Governor Amir Yaron chairing the Monetary Committee that sets the benchmark interest rate. The institution's mandate encompasses price stability (1–3% inflation target), financial system stability, issuance of the Israeli shekel, foreign exchange reserve management (a record $238.699 billion as of June 2026), and banking supervision. The Bank's near-term operating focus has been shaped by wartime economic conditions following the October 2023 Hamas attack and the six-week war with Iran that began February 2026; it has executed a monetary easing cycle since November 2025, cutting the benchmark rate from 4.5% to 3.5% across four reductions while inflation sat at 1.9% (May 2026) within target.

On the technology front, the Bank is developing the Digital Shekel central bank digital currency (CBDC) through a 2024 challenge program that is evaluating Israeli-founded fintech firms — Fireblocks, COTI, and QEDIT — for CBDC infrastructure implementation. It also participates as an observer in the Bank for International Settlements' mBridge cross-border CBDC project, which is built on Ethereum technology. Unlike commercial entities, the Bank of Israel does not operate a traditional revenue model: its income derives from seigniorage and returns on its FX reserve portfolio, its costs are funded through government channels, and its activities are inherently governmental and regulatory in nature. The single customer segment is Government and Financial Institutions, with no commercial customers, partners-as-revenue, or GTM motion in the conventional sense.

Name

Bank of Israel

Legal name

Bank of Israel

Website

https://boi.org.il

Company type

Public

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Bank of Israel, established in 1954, is the central bank of the State of Israel, headquartered in Jerusalem. It sets monetary policy, issues the Israeli shekel, manages $238.7 billion in foreign exchange reserves, supervises the banking system, and is developing a Digital Shekel CBDC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Jerusalem

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Core offering

The Bank of Israel is the central bank of the State of Israel, responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy, issuing the Israeli shekel, managing foreign exchange reserves (currently $238.7 billion), supervising the banking system, and publishing economic research and forecasts. It does not offer commercial products but provides governmental monetary and regulatory services to the State of Israel and the nation's financial system.

Product overview

The Bank of Israel is the country's central bank, responsible for monetary policy, currency issuance (the Israeli shekel), foreign exchange reserve management, banking supervision, and publishing economic reports and forecasts. It does not offer commercial products or services in the traditional sense; its activities are governmental and regulatory in nature. No specific commercial product portfolio was identified in the source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monetary Policy Implementation Formulation and execution of monetary policy including setting the benchmark interest rate (currently 3.5%) and maintaining inflation within the 1-3% target range. Serves the State of Israel and the nation's financial system.
• Currency Issuance (Israeli Shekel) Exclusive authority to issue the Israeli shekel, the national currency of the State of Israel. Serves the Israeli government, banks, and the public.
• Foreign Exchange Reserve Management Management of Israel's foreign exchange reserves (reaching record $238.699 billion in June 2026) and currency market interventions, including $1.027 billion purchased in June 2026 to moderate shekel appreciation.
• Banking Supervision Regulatory oversight and supervision of Israel's banking system to ensure financial stability and resilience.
• Digital Shekel CBDC Initiative Central bank digital currency initiative evaluating potential CBDC infrastructure through partnerships with Israeli fintech firms (Fireblocks, COTI, QEDIT). Includes participation in the BIS mBridge cross-border CBDC project as an observer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Interest rate reduced to 3.5%, lowest since late 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BIS (Bank for International Settlements) mBridge ProjectcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Bank of Israel is participating as an observer in the BIS mBridge cross-border CBDC project built on Ethereum's technology stack, which enables cross-border central bank digital currency transactions.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bank of England: The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and a direct comparable to the Bank of Israel — both operate monetary policy, financial stability, and currency issuance for developed economies with inflation targeting and active FX reserves management.
• Federal Reserve: The U.S. Federal Reserve is the largest developed-economy central bank and a direct peer — both conduct monetary policy through a benchmark rate, supervise banking, and publish macroeconomic forecasts. BOI Monetary Committee member Naomi Feldman was a former Federal Reserve senior economist, evidencing cross-institutional collaboration.
• European Central Bank: The ECB is the central bank for the euro area and a direct peer — both manage a benchmark policy rate, conduct FX operations, and explore a central bank digital currency with comparable technical and policy challenges to the Digital Shekel.
• Bank of Japan: The Bank of Japan conducts monetary policy, manages large FX reserves, and issues currency in a developed economy with significant fiscal pressures and demographic headwinds — a direct peer to the Bank of Israel given their comparable institutional mandates.
• Swiss National Bank: The SNB runs one of the world's largest FX reserve portfolios relative to GDP, conducts active FX interventions, and serves a similarly small open economy — making it a natural comparable to the Bank of Israel's $238.7B reserve-driven stabilization mandate.
• People's Bank of China: The PBoC operates monetary policy for the world's second-largest economy and runs the most-deployed retail CBDC pilot (e-CNY) — a direct peer to the Bank of Israel given BOI's active exploration of a Digital Shekel via its 2024 challenge program.
• Reserve Bank of India: The RBI manages monetary policy, FX reserves, and an active retail CBDC pilot (e-rupee) in a large emerging economy — a direct peer to the Bank of Israel given both institutions' concurrent CBDC experimentation and inflation-targeting frameworks.
• Bank of Canada: The Bank of Canada is the central bank of a developed economy with inflation targeting, active FX reserves, and a research-driven approach to CBDCs — a direct peer given their similar institutional scale, mandate, and policy frameworks.
• Sveriges Riksbank: Sveriges Riksbank is the world's oldest central bank, operates inflation targeting, and runs an active e-krona CBDC pilot — a direct peer given both institutions' parallel CBDC research agendas and established inflation-targeting mandates.

Emerging players

• Central Bank of The Bahamas: The Central Bank of The Bahamas launched the world's first retail CBDC (Sand Dollar), making it an emerging peer from a digital-currency innovation perspective — directly comparable on CBDC execution rather than overall institutional scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bankofisrael

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bank of Israel