So who says all CEO’s are bums? If you listen to those in the Obama administration you would think that being a CEO is worse than being a lawyer. Well there is an Israeli CEO, Eli Yones of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, who may change the president’s mind. You see Mizrahi Tefahot Bank is actually quite profitable,and as such Yones was entitled to and deserved a very large bonus. Yet he decided to decline it so that his employees would receive it for their hard work.

According to Globes: “Yones said, “Continuing the bank’s profit trend and the ongoing improvement in its image and positioning as a stable, successful, and leading bank are the result of hard and goal-oriented work demonstrated by the bank’s employees last year. There is no doubt that they deserve appreciation and financial compensation for this. Nonetheless, we must not ignore the difficult economic reality and expectations that the recession will worsen in 2009.”Yones advises that Mizrahi Bank’s 2008 bonus budget be smaller than the bonus for the bank’s 2007 profits. The 2008 bonus should reflect the employees’ achievements as well as the economic crisis and public mood.As for his own bonus for 2008, Yones said, “In such times, I believe that the bonus budget should go entirely to the employees and managers of the bank.”

How about showing Yones some appreciation for his bold and selfless move?

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With interest rates in Israel already at their lowest point in history, it appears that bank of Israel head Stanley Fischer is getting ready to cut rates dramatically lower.

According to a report in Globes: “Capital market sources expect Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer to announce next week that he is cutting interest rates by another 50 basis points. These sources feel that the deepening recession, deflation and the aggressive lowering of interest rates by other countries worldwide will give Fischer no choice but to make an additional interest rate cut in order to encourage exports.”

This would bring rates down to just 1.25%. That seems great for people looking for loans, except that the local banks aren’t lending, and in cases when you can get a loan the capital and collateral requirements are cumbersome.

Not to say ” I told you so” but the fact that Fischer is finally waking up to the economic reality on the ground is something we have been harping about for 4 months( Here is a link from November where we warned on what was going to happen). Why was the public deceived by the powers that be, as to the real state and outlook of the Israeli economy, and why is no one demanding accountability?

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