Bangladesh, July 24 -- Depositors are earning virtually no real return on their new savings as inflation has remained broadly in line with deposit interest rates, according to a latest publication of Bangladesh Bank, prompting the central bank to warn of continued pressure on households' purchasing power.

Advertisement The real interest rate on deposits measures the actual return on savings after adjusting for inflation.

Real returns on fresh deposits turned positive in June 2025 and remained so until February this year. However, they fell to nearly zero by the end of March 2026.

The observation was made in Bangladesh Bank's latest 'Banking Sector Update', which reviewed developments up to March 2026

The publication said depositors' ...