Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, spoke yesterday on the stability of the Israeli banking system. Fischer, along with many other public figures has gone out of his way to keep telling the public that the local banking system is sound. While scaring the public about bank failures is irresponsible, don’t Israelis deserve to be told the truth about what is going on? How about a little honesty from our leaders.

If everything is so rosy, then why does the BOI have a plan to stream money to the local banks in the event of a credit freeze? Is this prudent planning, or cause for worry?

As reported in Globes, Fischer spoke about how disciplined the local Israeli banks have been. “In addition, Israel’s banks had no sub-prime exposure. “Israel’s banks said ‘No’ to this paper,” said Fischer.”

Really? That’s not how I remember it. Bank in March Bank Hapoalim wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars. According to Reuters, “Hapoalim, whose shares have slid some 30 percent so far in 2008, said it posted impairments of 1.18 billion shekels, or $334 million, for its U.S. asset-backed securities portfolio. It had previously said it would write off around $300 million in the fourth quarter due to a decline in the value of its U.S. structured investment vehicle (SIV) holdings.” Other local banks also wrote off smaller amounts.

In the aforementioned Globes article Fischer also said, “Also the banks applied responsible credit policies.” Really? Is loaning money to the wealthiest ten families so that they can spend billions of dollars on international real estate, at the height of the real estate bubble, called responsible lending?

Shouldn’t the central bank head come clean with the Israeli public?

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Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

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Many reasons have been thrown around to the continued rout in global stocks. After all with 24/7 media, they need to have something to talk about. Bank failures, plugged up credit markets, as well as a general panic among investors are just some of the reasons given for the market slide. But what about the fact that Wall-Street may be on edge regarding a potential Obama presidency. Could it be that investors are worried that a Democratic president and Democratic controlled congress is a recipe for disaster?

Much has been made over the years about gridlock in Washington. Many of us believe that gridlock is good because nothing ends up getting done in Washington, which means that nothing can get screwed up. With a potential Democratic sweep, investors may be fretting about increased spending, increased taxes and increased intrusion into the lives of each and every one of us. After all the Obama policy of hope and change is innocent enough, but if it’s backed up by Nancy Pelosi et al. running with a majority in both houses, things could interesting.

Here is a chicken/egg one for you. Common wisdom has Obama surging ( I guess this is one surge he supports!) due to the current economic crisis. But could the market crash be a result of Obama’s poll surge, and the fact that investors are scared of a Democratic sweep?

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

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