Bank deposit rate rises by 20bps in Aug

Mettis Global reported that deposit returns edged up 20 basis points, reaching 4.17 per cent in August 2026 from 3.97 per cent in July. Year on year, that rate sat 825 basis points below the 12.42 per cent recorded a year earlier. Over the same period, the lending rate for all scheduled banks climbed to 11.99 per cent, a rise of 6 basis points from July and 12 basis points from a year earlier.

The spread between lending and deposit rates for the banking sector narrowed by 14 basis points to 782 basis points in August 2026, down from 796 basis points in July. Once adjusted for inflation, the real deposit rate fell to -3.98 per cent, compared with -3.51 per cent in July and 1.89 per cent in August 2025.

The real lending rate eased to 3.84 per cent from 4.47 per cent in July. It stood at 8.44 per cent in the same month last year.