JERUSALEM, May 12 - Morgan Stanley has been accepted as the 13th bank to participate in Israel's primary dealer programme for government bonds, the Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday. The ministry described the addition as evidence of confidence in the Israeli economy and its growth potential.
According to the Finance Ministry, Morgan Stanley's inclusion is aimed at several concrete objectives: lowering the government's financing costs, supporting market depth by expanding the investor base, and ensuring a high level of liquidity in government bonds. The ministry framed the programme as a mechanism to create a competitive, deep and efficient sovereign debt market.
The new member joins a group of seven foreign banks already designated as primary dealers - JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citi and BNP Paribas - alongside five Israeli banks: Hapoalim, Leumi, Mizrahi-Tefahot, Israel Discount and First International Bank of Israel.
Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu commented on the development, saying: "The presence and expansion of global financial institutions in Israel testify to the resilience, stability and standing of the Israeli economy in international markets."
The Finance Ministry noted the primary dealer programme has been instrumental in supporting the state's financing capacity over the past 2-1/2 years. During that period, more than 500 billion shekels were raised in the domestic tradable market - an amount the ministry presented alongside the exchange rate of $1 = 2.9072 shekels.
The ministry's statements emphasize the intended benefits of enlarging the pool of designated dealers: by bringing in additional global banks, authorities aim to widen the investor base that participates in Israeli sovereign debt, which in turn is expected to help maintain liquid conditions for trading and issuance and contribute to managing borrowing costs.
The announcement places Morgan Stanley among a bilateral mix of international and domestic institutions tasked with market-making responsibilities under the programme. The ministry positions these roles as central to establishing and sustaining an efficient sovereign bond market.
Sectors impacted: sovereign debt markets, banking and financial services, fixed-income investors.