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The head of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, is stepping down.
He's considered one of the world's top central bankers.
Back in 2011, Mohamed El-Erian endorsed him as a brilliant economist who should take over the IMF. Evan Soltas has pointed out that Fischer has been a de facto champion of NGDP targeting, who has kept the Israeli remarkably stable.
In this day of Central Banker poaching (the Bank of England hired Mark Carney from the Bank of Canada), this is an interesting free agency.
Here's the full press release from the Bank of Israel.
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The Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, today informed the Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, of his intention to step down on June 30, 2013, after more than eight years as Governor. The Governor noted that in addition to the goal of advancing the Israeli economy, one of his primary goals he had set himself was passing a new Bank of Israel law. That was done in May 2010. Since then, the Bank has operated successfully within the framework of the new law, especially through the work with the Monetary Committee and the Supervisory Council.
The Governor said that in the coming months he will continue to deal fully with all matters pertaining to the Bank. Prof . Fischer added that he is extremely grateful for the opportunity he has been granted by the Government of Israel to fulfill the task of Governor, especially during a challenging period that included the global economic crisis, a complex geo-political reality, and domestic social issues.
The Governor thanks the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Knesset, the Members of the