CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer called the heads of the nation's banks to an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to discuss Israel's response to the financial crisis rocking world markets.

The announcement Monday of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy kicked off what some analysts are referring to as the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression that followed the 1929 stock market crash.

On Tuesday, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange TA-100 index fell another 1.2 percent, totaling 6.8 percent in two days. Moscow's exchange took a 11.5 percent dive, Hong Kong dropped by 5.4 percent, Seoul by 6.1 percent and London by 3.4 percent.

While Israeli companies have increasingly sought to expand their trade to global markets, and foreign investors in Israeli companies are also on the rise, Israeli banks and insurance companies are generally stable.

Nonetheless, there is sufficient need for bankers, government officials and the private business sector to address the impact of the global financial crisis here in Israel.

Source: Haaretz