Bank Hapoalim CEO Yadin Antebi has identified the defense budget as the defining economic challenge for Israel's next government, warning that military spending levels will directly determine the country's standard of living in the coming years.
Speaking at EY's annual real estate conference, Antebi emphasized that gaining control over defense expenditures is not merely a fiscal technicality but a central pillar of future economic stability.
The CEO's remarks highlight growing concern among financial leaders about the long-term drag of sustained war footing on public finances and household consumption.
The warning comes as Israel's economy and financial markets continue to outperform many developed-market peers, including the United States, despite the country remaining on an effective war footing for nearly three years.
This resilience has masked underlying fiscal pressures, but Antebi's comments suggest that the margin for error is narrowing as defense costs persist.
The Israeli banking sector has also been navigating a separate regulatory debate, with the Central Bank recently criticizing efforts to classify the country's leading banks as an oligopoly.