Singapore Bank Savings Interest Rate 30 Years History 1985 – 2015

1985 – 1990: Similar to most developing countries, Singapore had a high interest rate environment during the period.  Savings interest rates in banks was 6.3% in 1985 and ended at 2.98% in 1990.  Depositors earned a high savings rate during the period.

In 1985, Savings Account Pays 6.3% p.a.

1991 – 1996: As Singapore approached developed nation status, savings interest rates ranged lower: 2.72% –  3.73%.

1997 – 1998: Asia was severely affected by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and interest rate spiked up to 3.49% in 1998.

1999 – 2002: The recovery was short-lived as the dot-com bust in 2000 followed by terrorist bombing of World Trade Centre in United States affected global economic growth.  Bank’s savings interest rates fell to 1.41%, 1.34% and 1.28% respectively for the period.

2002 – 2015: Bank savings rate stayed the lowest ever in the history of Singapore as savings interest rates fell to 0.75% and in 2015, 0.11%.

Many countries including Singapore had referenced monetary policies after the United States monetary policies.  Post-2001, US Federal Reserve was on an ultra-low interest rate policies till 2006.  The Federal Reserve Chairman was Alan Greenspan from 1987 – 2006.

As Singapore embarked on a journey to turn Singapore into a financial & wealth management hub, there was huge influx of funds into Singapore banks, keeping banks savings interest rate low for the entire period.

• 1985: 6.3%
• 1995: 2.93%
• 2005: 0.23%
• 2010: 0.16%
• 2015: 0.11%

Bank Savings Interest Rates Data 1985 – 2015

Source:

• Monetary Authority of Singapore 2015
• Leading 10 Banks & Finance Co. in Singapore
• Average Interest Rates in All January