"It’s important to point out that in the recent period the growth in business credit has mainly gone to companies in the real estate and construction sector. This growth does not stem from high demand for real estate assets, but actually from the opposite," Zabezhinsky explains. The continuing weakness of the contractors is also evident from a special report by rating agency Midroog last October, compiled by Midroog vice president and head of real estate Sigal Issachar, senior real estate analyst Lidor Uzan, and real estate team leader Gil Raz. He estimates that part of the business credit granted in recent months is for propping up construction and real estate companies. The numbers do not include the non-bank credit companies, apart from the credit card companies."