5)  The levels of growth and employment were high at the onset of the crisis. 6)  Israel's banking system is strong and stable compared with those of the advanced economies. 7)  Israel's capital market did not develop advanced, complex financial instruments whose inherent risk levels are difficult to assess.
8)  The average debt burden of companies and households is relatively low. The challenge at present is to preserve the economy's relatively favorable position, to take advantage of it to deal with the new situation, and to introduce the measures needed to escape from the period of slowdown without harming the economy's ability to return to the path of rapid and sustained growth.