Bank of Israel reports public financial assets rose by NIS 55 billion in the first quarter of 2026 driven by domestic equities and corporate bonds

The Bank of Israel reported that the public’s financial assets portfolio increased by about NIS 55 billion, or 0.8 percent, in the first quarter of 2026 to roughly NIS 7.25 trillion. The rise was led mainly by gains in domestic equities and tradable corporate bonds, while the portfolio’s share of gross domestic product edged down to about 340 percent because GDP grew slightly faster than the asset base. Within the portfolio, Israeli equities rose by about NIS 71.3 billion, mainly on higher prices, and cash and deposits increased by about NIS 22.5 billion to NIS 2.44 trillion, equivalent to around 34 percent of total assets. Tradable corporate bonds increased by about NIS 15.7 billion, mainly due to net investments. Offsetting moves included a NIS 36.3 billion fall in investments abroad, reflecting net realizations and price declines in foreign bonds and equities, as well as a NIS 14 billion decline in holdings of Makam. As a result, the share of foreign assets in the total portfolio fell to 17.8 percent and the share of foreign currency assets fell to 23.6 percent. Assets managed by institutional investors, excluding mutual funds, rose slightly by 0.5 percent to about NIS 3.3 trillion, or around 46 percent of the public’s total financial assets portfolio, with increases in Israeli equities and foreign equities and bonds partly offset by lower cash and deposits. Israeli mutual funds grew by about NIS 23.4 billion, or 3.1 percent, to NIS 780 billion, supported mainly by NIS 18.8 billion in net new investments concentrated in domestic bond funds, shekel money market funds and domestic equity funds, while funds focused on foreign equities recorded net withdrawals.