Belizeans are experiencing the lowest returns on their bank deposits in over 15 years, according to recent data from the Central Bank of Belize. The weighted average deposit rate fell to 0.9 percent in September 2025, reflecting a sustained decline in what banks pay customers for savings and time-deposit accounts. This downward trend is primarily driven by savings and time deposits, which constitute the majority of customer funds. Savings accounts now yield between 2.6 and 2.7 percent, while time deposits, often used for fixed-term investments, have dropped to 1.9 to 2.0 percent. Demand and chequing accounts, which typically offer minimal or no interest, have remained stable and play a lesser role in the overall decline. The long-term trend reveals a stark reduction in deposit earnings. In early 2010, the average rate was nearly 6 percent, but by 2020, it had fallen to around 1.3 percent. The continued decrease into 2024 and 2025 indicates that low deposit returns have become a permanent feature of Belize’s banking system. For example, time deposit rates, which stood at 7.4 percent in 2010, have plummeted by 74 percent to 1.9 percent today. Several factors contribute to this shift, including banks’ ample liquidity, which reduces their need to offer high interest rates to attract deposits, and slow lending growth, which diminishes competition for customer savings. For Belizeans, these historically low rates mean that savings grow at a sluggish pace, making it increasingly difficult to keep up with rising living costs. Over the same period, headline inflation has surged by nearly 30 percent, exacerbating the financial strain on households.