Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in Malaysia
Malaysia: Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) was 2.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Interest rate spread in Malaysia, 1969–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus deposit rate, %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 2.4% for interest rate spread in 2025.
That represents a change of down 8.8% on the previous year and up 67.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, interest rate spread in Malaysia peaked at 7.4% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2015.
That places Malaysia 120th out of 141 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 57 years of available data.
Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus deposit rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 3.6% | — |
| 1970 | 3.7% | +1.6% |
| 1971 | 3.7% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 3.9% | +4.9% |
| 1973 | 4.4% | +14.8% |
| 1974 | 4.9% | +9.3% |
| 1975 | 4.5% | -6.5% |
| 1976 | 4.5% | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 4.3% | -5.9% |
| 1978 | 4.3% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 3.9% | -8.6% |
| 1980 | 3.9% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 2.2% | -43.3% |
| 1982 | 2.6% | +19.5% |
| 1983 | 3.8% | +41.9% |
| 1984 | 2.7% | -27.8% |
| 1985 | 3.7% | +38.0% |
| 1986 | 5.2% | +37.8% |
| 1987 | 7.4% | +42.8% |
| 1988 | 6.0% | -18.4% |
| 1989 | 4.3% | -27.9% |
| 1990 | 3.1% | -29.3% |
| 1991 | 2.2% | -27.0% |
| 1992 | 2.2% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 3.0% | +35.0% |
| 1994 | 3.9% | +28.8% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | -27.8% |
| 1996 | 2.9% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 2.9% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 3.6% | +27.0% |
| 1999 | 4.4% | +22.6% |
| 2000 | 4.3% | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 3.8% | -13.0% |
| 2002 | 3.3% | -11.4% |
| 2003 | 3.2% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -5.8% |
| 2005 | 3.0% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 3.3% | +13.1% |
| 2007 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -8.9% |
| 2009 | 3.0% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 2.5% | -16.8% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -19.8% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -9.9% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -6.9% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | -8.4% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | +12.0% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +6.1% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | -5.4% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | +4.1% |
| 2023 | 2.7% | +36.1% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 2.4% | -8.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.4%, 45% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.0%, 48% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 1 |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 3.7% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.2% | 2.2% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.2% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More financial sector data for Malaysia
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0027 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 35.78 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0.8573 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 26.13 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0027 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 35.78 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0.8573 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is interest rate spread in Malaysia?
- Interest rate spread in Malaysia was 2.4% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest interest rate spread recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 1987.
- What is the lowest interest rate spread recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2015.
- How does Malaysia rank for interest rate spread?
- Malaysia ranks 120th out of 141 countries with data for 2025.
- Is interest rate spread rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 67.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Interest rate spread is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the interest rate paid by commercial or similar banks for demand, time, or savings deposits. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.