Financial Repression Tracker

Rules that steer savings into government debt or hold returns below inflation, country by country.

Hold · Rate caps

Deposit-rate ceilings

What it is
Authorities set maximum interest rates on savings or time deposits, sometimes differentiated by maturity, amount, institution or benchmark multiplier.
Why it counts
A binding ceiling reduces savers' nominal returns and the funding cost of banks holding public debt, potentially producing negative real returns.

When it was in force

  • United States: 1933 → 1986, historical
  • China: 2015, historical; the rule may be older than the cited document; its end is not documented
  • Japan: 2003 → 2005, historical; the rule may be older than the cited document

3 examples

  1. United States

    1933 → 1986Historical

    Regulation Q capped interest on time and savings deposits, with the remaining limits phased out in 1986.

    Banking Act of 1933 and Federal Reserve Regulation QPrimary source
    “the rates of interest payable on various types of interest-bearing deposits.”

    govinfo.gov (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    United States today: index 42.9

  2. China

    2015Historical

    The rule may be older than the cited document · Its end is not documented · As cited: March 2015 (effective 1 March 2015)

    The PBC limited deposit rates to 1.3 times its administered benchmark following the March adjustment.

    People's Bank of China benchmark-rate and deposit floating-band decision effective 1 March 2015Primary source
    “the upper limit of the floating range for deposit interest rates was raised from 1.2 to 1.3 times the benchmark level.”

    pbc.gov.cn (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    China today: index 59.5

  3. Japan

    2003 → 2005Historical

    The rule may be older than the cited document · As cited: 2003-2005 extension

    The Policy Board extended liquid-deposit ceilings alongside blanket deposit protection, explicitly citing moral hazard.

    Temporary Interest Rate Adjustment Law; Bank of Japan Policy Board decision of 13-14 February 2003Primary source
    “the maximum limit for interest rates on liquid deposits, which was set to prevent moral hazard”

    boj.or.jp (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    Japan today: index 64.9

Examples and their dates reviewed .

Further reading

8 more on rate caps