The Woman Trying to Shake Up Israel’s Financial System
Banking Supervisor Hedva Ber describes how she’s injecting competitive spirit into a financial sector with socialist roots.
Israel is known for tech innovation, but its banks have a lot of catching up to do. So Hedva Ber, the supervisor of banks within Israel’s central bank, is cutting red tape and spurring competition. That includes awarding the first new bank license since the 1970s, to a digital bank led by two tech entrepreneurs—Marius Nacht of cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. and Amnon Shashua of Mobileye NV, which develops autonomous driving software. Ber said the new branchless bank, which will offer credit and brokerage services, will “lead a change in the market.” With a Ph.D. in economics from Hebrew University, she has spent more than two decades learning about the financial sector from positions within the Bank of Israel and Bank Leumi, the country’s biggest lender by assets. In an interview in Tel Aviv, Ber, 51, described the challenges of moving the industry away from its socialist roots while keeping risks under control.
IVAN LEVINGSTON: How did you get into bank regulation?