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household debt

A woman takes out money from a Bank HaPoalim ATM machiine in Tel Aviv on December 9, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
May 6, 2026, 11:11 pm
Israel’s competition watchdog declares top 5 banks an oligopoly, targets deposits
Hapoalim, Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, Discount and First International control 98% of banking sector’s assets, competition watchdog says; critics denounce their huge profits, excessive fees
By Sharon Wrobel
Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem, April 7, 2025. (Sharon Wrobel/ The Times of Israel)
September 29, 2025, 8:02 pm
Central bank again holds rates as governor warns prolonged Gaza war weighs on growth
Amir Yaron says high geopolitical and economic uncertainty, alongside volatile inflation trends, do not justify cutting interest rate; central bank reduces 2025 growth forecast
By Sharon Wrobel
Illustrative: View of the Bank Hapoalim offices in the center of Tel Aviv. August 4, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
August 15, 2025, 8:47 am
Top banks notch record profits from credit and fee growth during wartime
Gap widens between banks’ soaring gains and the financial reality of ordinary Israelis
By Sharon Wrobel
People withdraw money from a Bank Hapoalim ATM machine in Tel Aviv on December 9, 2024 (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
March 5, 2025, 8:20 pm
Israeli banks rake in record profits as their war-battered customers drown in debt
Lack of competition, high interest rates and weak regulations have lenders notching record profits on the backs of households struggling to make ends meet during wartime
By Sharon Wrobel
Illustration: Israelis withdraw money from Bank Hapoalim cash machines. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 14, 2025, 10:01 pm
More than a third of Israeli households spend more than they earn, as living costs rise
Around 2.5 million Israelis are overdrawing their accounts, struggling to make ends meet, while banks reap record profits from extending credit lines and charging high interest
By Sharon Wrobel
Pastor Chris Harris, who leads two Church of God in Christ congregations in Chicago, and Rabbi Ari Hart of the Orthodox Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue teamed up for a shmita debt relief fundraiser. (Screenshot from Facebook via JTA)
June 2, 2022, 2:19 am
Inspired by biblical tenet, interfaith group cuts medical debt for 2,000 Chicagoans
Taking a page from sabbatical year loan forgiveness outlined in the Good Book, two churches and an Orthodox congregation team up to buy $1.9M worth of debts – and let them go
By Jackie Hajdenberg and Gabe Friedman
Frank Coutinho
May 1, 2019, 4:01 pm
Frank Coutinho
How has Israel’s household debt been faring?
Israel’s household debt increased by around 5% in 2017, and by 84% between 2008 and 2017, at a quicker rate than GDP growth
Women seen praying in the women's section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, September 30, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
February 3, 2016, 9:56 am
TOI talks: Praying, spying and struggling together
On this week’s episode: The French ultimatum; Obama’s ‘je suis Juif’ speech; praying together at the Western Wall; hacking and tracking Israeli drones; and Israel’s own vulture spy
By Raoul Wootliff
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomes new immigrants from the USA and Canada, on August 12, 2014. (Mark Neyman/GPO/Flash90)
January 28, 2016, 7:48 am
Sure you can make it in Israel — if your parents help, say economists
In today’s Israel, say Taub Center researchers, hard work and talent will not provide upward mobility, with a few exceptions. New immigrants ‘need to have a plan’
By Simona Weinglass
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