Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is mulling appointing a renowned foreign economist as the new central bank governor to replace incumbent Stanley Fischer, who will step down by June 30, the Yediot Ahronot daily reported Tuesday.

According to the report, Netanyahu has recently approached several Jewish-born, internationally revered figures with the offer, three of whom are still weighing whether to accept it.

On January, Fischer, 69, said he announced his decision to leave his post for personal reasons. His departure comes as Israel is facing growing economic woes, including severe budget deficit. Hence, the search for a candidate suitable to tackle these challenges intensified over the past week.

The daily paper reported that a candidate favored by Netanyahu is U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, 60, whose eight- year term ends in January 2014.

Another candidate is Martin Eichenbaum, a professor of economics at Northwestern University and the co-director of its Center for International Economics and Development. He also had been a consultant to the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco.

Among the candidates is Elhanan Helpman, a professor of economics at Harvard University. He was also a former member of the advisory board of the Bank of Israel and the head of its research division. Currently, he is one of the world's 25 most quoted economists, specializing in international trade policy and economic growth.

Helpman, who has been living in the United States for years, has reportedly refused the offer to succeed Fischer, though attempts are still being made to convince him to change his mind, the report said.

Several leading local economists sought to replace Fischer, and had met with Netanyahu to discuss their candidacies, but Netanyahu anxiously waits to receive responses from abroad, the report said.

Senior officials at the Bank of Israel and the Finance Ministry have lamented the early departure of Fischer, a former chief economist at the World Bank, who has earned plaudits for successfully guiding Israel's economy to resist the impact of the global financial crisis in 2008. Endi

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