A survey by Bank Otsar Hahayal found that 34% of Israelis have an overdraft during all or part of the month, and most have no idea how much interest they pay on their overdraft. The survey included 500 respondents over the age of 18.
The survey found no correlation between income and overdrafts. 34.8% of respondents who said that earn well above the average admitted they had an overdraft throughout the year.
The proportion of Israelis with overdrafts increases with age. 7.7% of respondents up to 24 said that they had an overdraft, compared with 16.8% of respondents aged 25-34, 37.6% of respondents aged 35-44, and 39.3% of respondents aged 45-54.
31.7% of respondents said that they had an overdraft because of an extraordinary expense, such as a family event, holiday, or illness. 39.1% of respondents said that poor financial conduct over time was the reason for their overdrafts, and 5% said that they did not know the reason for their overdraft. 62% of respondents aged 18-24 said that their financial conduct was poor, compared with 40% of respondents aged 35-44.
70.2% of the respondents said that they were trying to reduce or eliminate their overdrafts.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 3, 2012
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