The Bank of Israel published figures from its annual survey of nonfinancial private sector debt, summarising developments in the fourth quarter of 2025. Total debt outstanding (business and household) increased by about 2.8% over the quarter to NIS 2.5 trillion. Business sector debt rose by about NIS 53 billion (3.6%) to around NIS 1.5 trillion, mainly reflecting net debt raised of NIS 65 billion concentrated in bank credit and debt raised abroad, partly offset by a 3.5% appreciation of the shekel against the dollar and a 0.6% decline in the CPI. The annual growth rate of business debt reached 11%, with bank debt growth accelerating to 18% while nonbank debt grew about 1%. Bond issuance totalled about NIS 19 billion in the quarter (48% by real estate and construction companies), and the spread between Tel Bond 60 corporate bond yields and CPI-indexed government bond yields narrowed to about 0.86 percentage points in Q4, moved to 0.82 percentage points in January, and widened to about 0.94 percentage points in February 2026. Household debt increased by about NIS 13 billion (1.5%) to around NIS 903 billion, driven by higher housing debt (up about NIS 9 billion to about NIS 653 billion) and nonhousing debt (up about NIS 4 billion to about NIS 250 billion); annual growth ended 2025 at 7% for housing debt and 6% for nonhousing debt. Seasonally adjusted new mortgage borrowing from banks was NIS 26 billion in Q4, and averaged NIS 10 billion per month in January–February 2026 versus about NIS 8.8 billion per month in 2025. A translation of the Statistical Bulletin chapter is forthcoming.

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