Alongside these provisions, clause 7.2 of the agreement establishes a general provision according to which if the funds are not repaid on the dates set out in the agreement, arrears interest will apply at a rate of 1.5% per month (i.e., about 18% per year).
The expert was of the opinion that in view of the specific provisions regarding the arrears interest rate for the credit facility and the costs of the credit facility, it should be determined that the rate should be 7%. According to him, the rate of 18%, Stipulated in the General Provision of the Agreement, Relevant to a situation where no other specific provision exists.
The defendants raise a number of arguments in this regard, but in my opinion they should not be accepted (see the defendants' summaries on page 31 of the transcript of the hearing of September 18, 2025, line 24 to page 34, line 24).
Thus, it was argued that clause 3.3.1.6 is intended to apply only in a situation in which the class members repay the credit facility and the costs of the insurance company in early repayment and before the end of the venture. First, however, there is no mention of this argument in the language of the section. Second, the agreement includes additional provisions relating to specific arrears interest rates, since the arrears interest rate for the first and second parts of the loan was set at 15% (clauses 3.1.5 and 3.2.5 of the agreement). The defendants do not dispute that these provisions apply in any case, and not only in a situation of early repayment. It was therefore not clarified why the provision of section 3.3.1.6, which relates to the third part and is essentially similar, should be different.
The defendants claim that it is unlikely that the lender agreed to an interest rate of 7% without any restriction, but it should be remembered that this is an additional interest on top of the interest in the amount of NIS 2,700,000 (which itself bears arrears interest at the highest rate of about 18% by virtue of clause 7.2 of the agreement). The defendants also admit that with regard to the first and second parts of the loan,, They agreed to settle for the same interest rate for both the period before the repayment date and for the period of arrears. It is true that this is an interest rate At a higher rate of 15%, as mentioned, but this agreement shows that the defendants did not believe that arrears necessitated a significant increase in the amount of interest.