In the current interest rate cut trend, high annualized returns of up to 20% can still be achieved in Hong Kong deposits, offering a "benefit" of high interest rates.

On February 20th, the central bank released the latest LPR data, with the LPR for terms over 5 years lowered by 25 basis points, marking the largest single rate cut in history. In the past year of 2023, state-owned major banks have conducted three rounds of interest rate cuts. On December 22, 2023, state-owned banks such as ICBC, Agricultural Bank, BANK OF CHINA, CCB, Bank of Communications, as well as some joint-stock banks like China Merchants Bank, all lowered their deposit benchmark interest rates.

Amid the continuous pressure on net interest margins of mainland banks, the neighboring region of Hong Kong still maintains high interest rates.

Taking ZA Bank, Hong Kong's first digital bank, as an example, the latest 7-day Hong Kong dollar time deposit rate can go up to 20%. For instance, depositing 100,000 Hong Kong dollars would yield 384 Hong Kong dollars in interest over 7 days.

Based on the latest information, ZA Bank's short-term deposit rates are also quite lucrative, with the highest USD deposit rate reaching 5.15% for three months, and the highest HKD deposit rate at 4.55% for three months.

In fact, the high deposit rates of ZA Bank actually reflect the current high deposit rate situation of many banks in Hong Kong. According to reports, after visiting several Hong Kong banks, it was found that although deposit rates have slightly eased compared to before, they are still at historically high levels. Currently, the 6-month HKD fixed deposit rates of many Hong Kong banks are around 4.3%, with some banks offering USD deposit rates as high as 5.38%.