Business sector debt decreased by NIS 0.2 billion to about NIS 793 billion in August. Households' debt increased in August by about 0.8 percent, to about NIS 381 billion.
The business sector's outstanding debt
· The total outstanding debt of the business sector decreased in August by about NIS 0.2 billion to about NIS 793 billion.
· The decrease derived from net repayments of NIS 3.2 billion, primarily bank loans (about NIS 4 billion) which were offset by the effect of the increase in the CPI and the depreciation of the shekel against the dollar.
· In September, the business sector (excluding banks and insurance companies) issued NIS 2.6 billion of bonds, of which NIS 1.5 billion was tradable bonds issued by the Israel Electric Company. Bond issues since the beginning of the year average about NIS 2.3 billion a month.
- Households' outstanding debt in August was NIS 381 billion. The balance of housing debt increased by about NIS 3.3 billion (1.2 percent), and at the end of August stood at NIS 272 billion. Since the beginning of 2012, outstanding housing debt has increased by NIS 13.8 billion (5.4 percent).
- New mortgages taken out in September totaled about NIS 3.2 billion, compared with NIS 5.8 billion in August. The figure for September is lower than the average per month (NIS 3.8 billion) since the beginning of the year. The decline may be partially attributed to the fewer business days during the month due to the Jewish holidays, and the fact that some transactions were brought forward to July and August due to the increased VAT rate which came into effect in September.
