Jerusalem, 16 June, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Bank of Israel reported that in the First Quarter of 2026 (January – March) the economy’s outstanding liabilities to abroad increased by approximately $6 Billion (about 0.8%) in the first quarter, to about $658 billion at the end of the quarter.
During the quarter, nonresidents’ direct investments in Israel, including in share capital, increased relative to the previous four quarters. At the same time, the prices of Israeli securities held by nonresidents increased.
In the first quarter of 2026, the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents declined by approximately $5 billion (about 0.5%), to about $909 billion at the end of March. The decline in the balance was mainly due to price declines and net realizations of foreign securities by Israeli residents.
During the first quarter, there were a number of large-scale transactions that affected both assets and liabilities, including transfers between various investment channels. These transactions led to a decline in financial investments and an increase in direct investments by foreign residents in the economy. They also led to a decrease in direct investments by Israeli residents abroad.
The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad declined by $11 billion (4%) during the first quarter of 2026, to about $250 billion at the end of the quarter.
The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) declined by about $5 billion (1.5%) during the fourth quarter, to approximately $325 billion at the end of March.
The ratio of gross external debt to GDP (in US Dollar terms) increased by 0.3 percentage points in the first quarter, to about 27% at the end of March.