Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told leaders of Israel's five biggest banks, Thursday evening, that it was important for the banks to work together with the state to take care of sources of credit for the economy. He also asked to hear the banks' assessments of the affects of the recently-announced recommendations of the committee to increase competition in the marketplace.

The bank chiefs expressed concern about the credit crisis taking shape in the economy and noted that the price of credit was rising. They said a strangling of credit could lead to financial instability.