Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) risk management division head Hedva Bar will be appointed Supervisor of Banks. Following several months of work by the appointment committee, it was eventually decided that Bar, the candidate preferred by Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug, would receive the job. Bar will replace David Zaken, who is expected to finish his term at the end of June.
The Bank of Israel hesitated to appoint Bar because she is a senior Bank Leumi official with potential conflicts of interest in her new position. Social organizations have already contacted Flug on this matter.
Bar worked at Bank Leumi in recent years, but she also worked before that at the Bank of Israel. She is greatly appreciated by both the banks and the regulators, but her position at Bank Leumi at such a sensitive time, when the bank was negotiating with the US authorities on the assistance it rendered to tax evaders, has caused criticism of her appointment.
Bar studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating summa cum laude with a BA in economics and political science, followed by an MA in economics. Her doctorate dealt with the subject of the money market and corporation supervisory mechanisms. She has lectured in several courses in the Hebrew University Economics and Business Administration Departments. Bar, married with three children, resides in Mevasseret Zion.
Flug said, "I thank Dr. Hedva Bar for agreeing to accept the important, challenging, and demanding post of Supervisor of Banks. The public good requires close professional oversight of the banking system in safeguarding the public's savings and deposits, ensuring stability in the banking system, and bolstering competition and fairness. I found that Hedva's vast and diverse experience in research, regulation, and the business sector in Israel and internationally would make a substantial contribution to supervision of the banks at this time. I thank the members of the appointment committee for their thorough hard work and all the candidates who took part in the process and expressed interest in the job."
Bar said in response, "I thank the members of the appointment committee and the Governor for giving me their trust, and I am deeply moved at having the privilege to serve the public in an extremely important position at the head of the Bank of Israel Banking Supervision Department."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 9, 2015
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