For fun - CD/GIC/TD rates around the world

[Koogie]

We had one of our agents from the UK visit the office today. Talk turned to interest rates and whatnot. After she left, I got curious. Here are the 5 yr interest rates on offer for term deposits (or equivalent jargon) by MAJOR banks in the US/Canada/UK/AU/NZ.

US- 1.11%(BOA)
CDN- 2.40% (RYL BNK)
UK- 3.90% (Lloyds TSB)
AU- 5.00% (ANZ)
NZ- 5.25% (ANZ NZ)

Is it useful or what does it all mean ? Probably to many factors to know but I enjoyed looking into it. Can any other people around the globe contribute to the list ?

[BigNick]

I don't think that it's very useful, as it's in the local currency in each case. You can bet that some likelihood of future fluctuations in the exchange rate is priced in (meaning: if you try to get better rates by moving to a foreign currency, you're betting against many thousands of professionals).

FWIW, I just found 3.80% for a 5-year term deposit with a Dutch bank, and 4.00% with a Spanish one (but in the latter case, I'd be double-checking the local deposit guarantee rules).