Clients updates / Financial Regulation

On July 26, 2026, the Israeli Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority published a policy document for implementing a reform in the guarantee market, along with a draft update to the licensing procedure for regulated financial services and supplementary draft circulars. Public comments were accepted until August 16, 2026, and discussions of the comments will be held on September 7, 2026.

For the first time, Israel’s Supreme Court has established a clear test for calculating financial sanctions under the Consumer Protection Law, depending on whether the conduct constitutes a single act or multiple separate acts.

2025 will be remembered as the year financial regulation succeeded in catching up with the pace of technological innovation, progressing from regulatory uncertainty to a clear framework encompassing many aspects of financial activity and suited to the modern era.

This past weekend, a precedent-setting ruling was issued in the case of Bizi Finance Ltd., in which the court was required to determine whether a promissory note signed electronically could be enforced through the enforcement and collection offices.

Important updates relating to the Financial Information Service Law have been published in recent days.

The Israel Securities Authority recently updated the amounts that an individual investor must have in order to be deemed a “Qualified investor.” This update applies solely to investors who are individuals and not to companies.

In October of this year, the Israel Securities Authority published a memorandum of law aimed at regulating broker-dealer activities in Israel. Public comments will be accepted until 21/11/24.

The Tel Aviv District Court handed down an important ruling recently regulating the activities of entities distributing alternative investments in Israel. In many instances, the distribution activities are accompanied by conversations and correspondence with potential investors, which constitute investment advice, and this is where matters become complicated.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is an EU regulatory framework, aimed at enhancing the financial sector’s ability to withstand and recover from ICT (information and communication technology) disruptions.

The Israel Securities Authority recently published a draft of a new directive for payment companies and holders of basic initiation licenses or approvals regarding reporting to the Authority. According to the Draft, payment companies and holders of basic initiation licenses or approvals are required to submit annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and immediate reports on various topics, such as audited or reviewed financial data, operational data, compliance with capital requirements, technological measures, corporate governance, compliance etcetera.

The Knesset approved a series of legislative amendments this past July designed to promote competition in the money market – money market mutual funds, deposits and government bonds (short-term loans maturing in less than one year) – and to enable the general public to achieve higher returns on its short-term savings.

This year, the Israeli Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority issued a series of new and revised circulars regarding proper management and corporate responsibility by financial service providers.

The Israel Securities Authority’s publications in recent months do not reflect the final version of the directives, but indicate the ISA’s approach when regulating payment services: setting out the licensing process and the licensing requirements, defining criteria for exemptions, technological requirements, safeguarding and protecting customers’ funds, examining service providers’ integrity, etc.

The Bank of Israel is proposing to regulate the provision of services to licensed cryptocurrency service-providers so that banks will not be able to sweepingly refuse to provide service and will have to formulate a risk management policy.

After Libra, Facebook’s ambitious global digital currency venture, faced fierce resistance from regulators around the world, Facebook has announced “Libra 2.0.” The venture is set to undergo far-reaching changes that, on the one hand, will likely do away with regulatory concerns, but, on the other, will force Facebook to give up its original vision, i.e. a quick and simple transfer of digital currencies between accepted users worldwide without the need for a bank account.

Applicants who submit a permit application on or before May 30, 2019, may continue to offer brokerage under the previous ISA regime until receiving a decision on their application.

Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the US, received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to list for trading digital currencies considered to be securities (security tokens). Coinbase has thus become the first US federally-regulated platform for trading security tokens.