Bank of Israel short-term bills — the shekel money-market benchmark and a core monetary-policy tool.
Definition. Makam are short-term bills issued by the Bank of Israel — zero-coupon debt of up to one year that functions as the shekel money-market benchmark and a core tool of monetary policy.
Issued by the Bank of Israel, makam (an acronym for milveh katzar moed, “short-term loan”) let the central bank absorb liquidity and signal the short end of the shekel curve. They are the Israeli analogue to US Treasury bills. Yields on makam move with the Bank of Israel’s policy rate and are watched as a real-time read on rate expectations. For foreign capital parking shekels, makam are the default risk-free instrument — and their auction results are a cleaner signal of monetary stance than commentary.
