Stanley Fischer Quits Israeli Bank Board After Less Than Six Months on the Job

Less than six months after he began a three-year term on the board of directors of Bank Hapoalim, Stanley Fischer, the former governor of the Bank of Israel and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States, has resigned his position with the Israeli commercial bank.

In a notice to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Bank Hapoalim said Fischer would be leaving the board for personal reasons. Fischer, who is 77, asked to step down from the board to spend more time with his family in the United States, sources said. It had been thought that Fischer would continue living in Israel.

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His appointment to the Bank Hapoalim board was not without its complications. David Avner, a director of the bank and the board’s representative on the bank’s selection committee, opposed Fischer’s appointment, instead favoring the appointment of risk management specialist Nurit Krauss. In the end, Fischer was nominated for a three-year term in any event.