Central Bank’s Israeli bond authorisation expires today
The Central Bank’s controversial authorisation of documentation issued to investors in Israeli bonds expires today.
The bank has been under intense pressure from campaigners and opposition to refuse to rubber stamp prospectuses issued by Israel.
However, the bank says it is legally obliged to approve the documentation if it meets requirements.
The bank last night declined to comment whether it has been requested to approve any new prospectuses.
Israel issues prospectuses to potential investors in sovereign bonds which it sells as a mechanism to borrow money.
The documentation used to be approved by the UK for the EU as a whole but Israel then switched to Ireland after Brexit.
This weekend Sinn Féin said if the approval is renewed for another year the Central Bank will continue to facilitate the sale of bonds across the EU.
It has called on the Government to stop the Central Bank “enabling the sale” of Israeli bonds.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has claimed that an arm of the State is now “tacitly complicit” in Israel’s fundraising.
The Government has consistently backed the Central Bank’s position that it is obliged to approve the documentation issued by Israel if it meets certain criteria.
Earlier this year the Coalition rejected a private members bill by Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty seeking to prevent the Central Bank authorising bond documentation.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government “would not be found wanting” and has been calling on Israel to comply with international law.
Last month the cross-party Oireachtas Finance Committee called on the Central Bank to review whether in can turn down any requests from Israel to authorise prospectuses.
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