Mercantile VP: Israel to exceed growth potential by 3.5%

“The Israeli economy will grow above its growth potential in 2019 by 3.5% and the growth rate may even reach 4%,” said Zion Becker, vice president and head of the financial division at Mercantile Bank.

Becker made the comments during the annual Dun & Bradstreet conference at the Lago Convention Center in Rishon Lezion. He spoke in the presence of 600 small and medium-sized business owners from all over the country.

Becker addressed the issue of financing medium-sized and small businesses through state-guaranteed funds and noted the significant share of these businesses in the Israeli economy. Small and medium-sized businesses account for 99.5% of all businesses in the business sector, more than 50% of business production, and 60% of all employed persons.

Becker also noted that the next revolution in financing for small and medium-sized businesses will only come after securitization is completed, since it is the most effective instrument for unifying the banking system that specializes in underwriting, managing and operating credit, and is the largest and cheapest source of credit found in long-term savings bodies in Israel.

The conference was opened by Doron Cohen, chairman of Dun & Bradstreet, and followed by a panel named “Where is the money?” led by Efrat Segev of Dun & Bradstreet. Other notable participants included Eyal Elhayany from Tarya P2P, Adv. Micha Avni of Peninsula and chairman of the Credit Card Association, Yaron Pitaro of Wealthstone Holdings, and Hagit Chitayat from the Israeli Credit Insurance Company Ltd.

The VP’s of Technology and of Sales, Marketing and Service at Dun & Bradstreet, Moshe Yidgar and Ariel Schreiber, respectively, also spoke.