Supervisor of Banks Daniel Hahiashvili said, “Since the publication of the deferral program, we have seen tremendous interest among customers, and that the measure significantly helps those who need it to get through this challenging time.  I am pleased that the banking system has expanded some of the terms of the program for its customers, and it is correct for the system to continue examining how to help further.  It is important to emphasize to the public the significance of deferring loan repayments, and that borrowers should do so only if they really need to.”

 

The Banking Supervision Department today published data on the volume of repayment deferrals that were made during the first three weeks of the “Swords of Iron” war, following analysis of the data received for October.  Deferral data will be published each month[1], and the information published on the matter will be expanded in accordance with developments.

 

In October:

  • About 117,000 loans were deferred in the banking system, mostly by households (mortgages and consumer credit).
  • The total amount of payments deferred is about NIS 2.7 billion, mostly in the business sector.
  • The balance of the loans for which payments were deferred is about NIS 36 billion.

 

Initial data obtained during November show that about one-third of the loans that were deferred since the Bank of Israel’s program took effect are held by “first-degree” customers who were directly impacted by damage from the war[2], with most of the deferrals by first-degree customers involving mortgages or consumer credit.

 

Since the outbreak of the war, the banks and credit card companies have adopted assistance measures for their customers, including with regard to loan repayment deferrals.  In addition, the Banking Supervision Department has acted to formulate a broad program to ease the credit and fees burden for households and businesses, which was adopted by the banks and credit card companies.  The program was published on October 15, 2023, and has since been expanded to include residents of northern localities.  The fill detailed terms of the program can be found on the Bank of Israel’s website.

To obtain more information on the programs, including commonly asked questions and answers, and information on the other measures adopted to benefit customers, please visit the emergency information page on the Bank of Israel’s website.

 

[1] The initial report required gathering, scrubbing, and analyzing the data.  The following reports are expected to be published around a week after the end of each month

[2] People who live or own a business located within a range of up to 30 km from the Gaza border; people who were evacuated from their homes by an official state agency as of November 7, 2023 and who live in one of the localities that appear on the Bank of Israel’s website; people are were called up as part of the emergency mobilization; and people who are first-degree relatives of those killed during the war, kidnapped, or missing.