Israel to raise debt abroad after fall in risk premium

Ministry of Finance accountant general Yali Rothenberg is launching a public offering of dollar bonds abroad.

The bond offering is being carried out following the recent decline in Israel’s risk premium (the CDS) and in the dollar yield spread, which reflects the difference between the interest rate that Israel pays on its loans and the interest rate of the US government. This downward trend, combined with the relative calm on the geopolitical front, has opened a favorable window of opportunity that allows the country to set more attractive interest rates in the offering.

Israels fiscal deficit again narrowing

On interest rates, estimates are that the goal will be to return to the spreads that the Ministry of Finance received before the war – around 1% more than the yield on 10-year US government bonds.

Teams from the accountant general’s office have recently held meetings with dozens of international investors from various fields and large financial institutions in Asia, Europe and the US. According to estimates, the message they received is that the current timing will attract major interest in the bond issue and high demand. The underwriters chosen are Citi, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and JP Morgan. The bonds to be issued will have terms of 5, 10 and 30 years.

The process is only at its beginning, and it is not yet clear what the final amount of the raising will be and what the interest rates will be. It can be estimated that the amount will be similar to that raised in the large international issuance last year – about $5 billion. This is due to the scope of the deficit, which is expected to be close to 4% of GDP.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 6, 2026.

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