Israel: Postponing loan repayments constitutes a new warning to the Israeli economy
The Central Bank of Israel made its latest announcement about postponing the payment of loan installments amounting to 117,000 loans, as a new sign of the impact of the ongoing war in Gaza on the Israeli economy.
The current conflict is classified as one of the longest wars that took place between Israel and the Palestinians.
In statements by the Banking Supervision Authority on Wednesday, it indicated that the Israelis had postponed payment of amounts estimated at approximately 3 billion shekels (about $800 million) on loans in October due to the economic effects of the war in Gaza.
The Central Bank of Israel confirmed that approximately 117,000 loans had their installments postponed, which mainly include real estate loans and other consumer credits, with a total value of 2.7 billion shekels ($727 million) in October.
The Central Bank of Israel added that analysis of data collected in November showed that a third of people who decided to postpone loan repayments were directly affected by the damage caused by the war, whether they lived in areas close to the Gaza border, were called up as reserve soldiers, or were relatives of those kidnapped in Gaza.
