Savings certificate profit rates: Decision to cut withdrawn, previous rates to be retained
Muhid Hasan :
The government has canceled the decision to reduce the profit rate of savings certificates and has reinstated the previous rates for the next six months.
The Finance Division requested the Internal Resources Division (IRD) to issue a gazette notification on Sunday cancelling the newly announced profit rates.
Investors will receive the same returns as before (July-December) for the first six months of the current year (January-June), the Internal Resources Division Secretary Abdur Rahman Khan said on Sunday.
“It appears the previous rates have been maintained in the official notification. If not, it will happen shortly,” he added.
Last week, through a gazette notification the government has reduced interest rates on all major national savings certificates (NSCs) for the next six months, aligning them with prevailing market interest rates.
The decision created dissatisfaction among ordinary middle-class and limited-income investors.
In that context, the government has decided to move away from the previous decision and keep the profit rate unchanged.
Like last time H1 FY26 (July -December), it is following two different investment ranges for the payment of profit of the National Savings Scheme, with the first investment category up to Tk7.5 lakh and the second investment category exceeding Tk7.5 lakh.
The five-year Bangladesh Savings Certificate will now give interest of 11.83per cent for investments up to Tk7.5 lakh and 11.80per cent for amounts above that, payable at maturity after five years.
For the three-month profit-bearing savings scheme, the rate will be 11.82per cent for investments up to Tk7.5 lakh and 11.77per cent for higher amounts, payable at maturity after three years.
The Pensioner Savings Certificate will now carry an interest rate of 11.98per cent for investments up to Tk7.5 lakh and 11.80per cent for higher amounts, payable at maturity after five years.
The Family Savings Certificate will offer 11.93per cent at maturity for investments up to Tk7.5 lakh and 11.80per cent for amounts above that, payable at maturity after five years.
The Post Office Savings Bank Term Account will now carry an interest rate of 11.82per cent for investments up to Tk7.5 lakh and 11.77per cent for higher amounts, payable at maturity after three years.
Meanwhile, Net sales of National Savings Certificates fell sharply at the start of the current fiscal year as the government deliberately scaled back its reliance on high-cost savings instruments and shifted toward cheaper borrowing sources, while inflation continued to erode household saving capacity.
Since 2021, interest rates on savings certificates have been cut by up to two percentage points, while stricter documentation requirements, including mandatory national ID and tax return proof for purchases above Tk 5 lakh, have limited access.
Bangladesh Bank data showed that net NSC sales dropped by 53.61 per cent to Tk 2,369 crore during July-October of FY26, from Tk 5,107 crore in the same period a year earlier. The outstanding stock of NSCs declined to Tk 3.41 lakh crore in October 2025 from Tk 3.51 lakh crore a year earlier, reflecting steady repayments exceeding new issuance.