Israeli Majority Prefer Saving in Banks, Arabs Less than Jews

SadaNews Economy Translation - Data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics shows that about 60% of Israelis saved money during the past year, half of which was through banks, and only one-fifth through the capital market.

According to the data, banks remain the preferred choice for savings, while the capital market remains relatively marginal, especially among the Arab public (Palestinians in Israel), who rarely participate in it, as noted by the Hebrew economic newspaper Calcalist, translated by SadaNews Economy.

According to the data, 61% of adults aged 20 and older saved money over the past year, more than half of them (52%) did so through savings plans, deposits, or current accounts, some of which yield almost no interest, while about one-fifth (21%) chose to invest their money in the capital market, mostly through mutual funds, investment savings funds, or public saving policies.

The data shows that the gaps between Jews and Arabs (Palestinians in Israel) are particularly noticeable, with 58% of Jewish savers saving in banks, compared to only 27% of Arabs.

In the capital market, the gap is even sharper, with about a quarter of Jews investing in it, compared to a negligible 2.5% among Arabs (the central bank notes that this figure has low reliability and a high sampling error range, ranging from 15% to 30%), as the newspaper indicated and was translated by SadaNews Economy.

Among the general Israeli public, women save less than men through the capital market (16% vs. 25%), but in banks, women's saving rates nearly equal those of men. Additionally, 15% of Israelis prefer saving cash or through family members, a rate particularly high among Arabs (21%), compared to just 13% among Jews.

It also seems that 3.3% of the public saves in savings accounts, a rate that reaches 18% among Haredi populations, and an additional 2% save through investing in virtual currencies.

Among young people, the proportion of those who save in banks rises: about 55% of those aged 20 to 44 save in banks, compared to 50% of those aged 45 to 64, and 47% of those aged 65 and over, while in the capital market, the saving rates do not significantly differ among age groups.