Jewish investments to go halal in Israel?

[S.A.M.]

We keep hearing on this board how the Jews became middle men in finance and banking because its forbidden for Muslims and Christians to charge interest [usury] on loans. I always assumed this was because similar laws did not exist for Jews.

Israel moving toward 'kosher' investment policy

Until now, strictly religious Jews had a problem placing their money in standard avenues because some are prohibited under halakha. For example, investment in corporate bonds are prohibited because it is forbidden to charge interest on loans, unless the company has special permission. Also, the religious public does not want to invest in companies that work on Shabbat or sell non-kosher food. For their part, investment banks would like access to the savings of the religious community.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1106423.html

So is it non-religious Jews who take interest on loans? Or is the law flexible?