Bank of Israel on Monday in its annual report said the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents reached a high record of $716 billion at the end of 2021.
According to the report, this was an increase of $110 billion, or 18.2 per cent, compared to the figure registered at the end of 2020.
According to the report, in the fourth quarter 2021, the asset balance increased by $40 billion, or six per cent, from the end of the third quarter of 2021.
The increase derived mainly from growth in the balance of deposits, loans and customer or supplier credit, as well as growth in the balance of investments in the tradable securities portfolio, the bank explained.
Israeli outstanding liabilities increased by 30.7 per cent in 2021 to a record high of about $537 billion.
The increase derived primarily from growth in the balance of direct investments and investments in the tradable securities portfolio value.
Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-a-vis abroad increased by about 15 per cent in the fourth quarter to about $178 billion at the end of December 2021.
The ratio of gross external debt to GDP increased from 32.9 per cent to 33.2 per cent during the fourth quarter.
