Shmuel Hauser

Shmuel Hauser at the Wall Street Journal Conference, New-York, 10.09.2012

Shmuel Hauser, the chairman of the Israeli Securities Authority^[1](ISA), was appointed to his position by the Minister of Finance on May 3, 2011.^[2] Currently Hauser serves also as a member of two committees at the Bank of Israel: the Licenses Committee and the advisory committee on banking issues.

Hauser previously served as the chief economist of the Israeli Securities Authority, and was an active participant in designing all of the reforms in the capital market during the years of his activity as chief economist of the Authority (1989-2005).

Among other positions, he has served as chairman of a Public Committee, whose task was to organize the activities of market makers at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. He was an active participant in the successful implementation of market making for government bonds and shares, which led to savings of billions of shekels for the Treasury. He also served as chairman of a Committee, whose task was to make recommendations on ways to minimize manipulations of the capital market. All of the Committee’s recommendations were successfully implemented. In addition, he served as the coordinator, and a member, of the public committee led by Uriel Procaccia to organize alternative trading areas in the capital market.

After leaving the Authority in 2005, he was the head of the Gaon and Mea-net market making company. He was a director of the Ma’allot (S&P) rating company, and a director of Migdal Hever Stock Exchange and of the Meitav Investment House. In addition, Hauser served as economic consultant to the Knesset Economics Committee’s investigation committee on bank fees reform, and was also chairman of a public committee whose task was to make recommendations on the criteria for housing benefits in the municipality of Kiryat Ono.

Before being appointed chairman of the Israeli Securities Authority, Hauser was the dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at the Ono Academic Campus,^[3] and a full professor at Ben-Gurion University in the School of Management.

He holds a B.A. in statistics and economics and a M.A. in finance from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He completed his Ph.D. at Temple University in Philadelphia, in the United States.^[4]

Hauser was chosen by Globes as one of the ten most influential people on Israeli economy for 2013.^[5]

Chairman of the Israel Securities Authority

On May 3, 2011, the Israeli Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, announced Hauser's appointment as Chairman of the Israeli Securities Authority, replacing Zohar Goshen.

In 2012, Hauser presented a roadmap to the Israeli Securities Authority, which promoted de-regulation and the removal of barriers during its process.^[6] In the same year, Hauser ordered to start a criminal investigation against Nochi Dankner, the owner of IDB Holding Corp. LTD, regarding a possible market manipulation.^[7]

In 2013, Hauser promoted several actions which aimed to protect the investors in the capital market along with the facilitation of regulation, which aimed to help the companies. Amongst these actions: a law promoting de-regulation for the companies; launching the CMMF (Conservative Money Market Fund) tool to promote the public's involvement and invests in the capital market;^[8] and decreasing the price of distribution fees for companies.

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