Where does your money
actually earn the most?
A practical guide to comparing deposits, bonds and the cost of capital in India. It starts with one fact: your bank already pays two prices for the same money, and you are usually offered the lower one.
Start here
Every rate you are quoted starts from one curve
Find the rate that carries no credit risk. Everything above it is being paid to you for something specific, and knowing what turns a number into a decision.
The government borrows at a rate that changes by maturity. That ladder is the G-Sec yield curve, and it is the floor under everything else. A one year deposit, a three year debenture and a ten year bond are all quoted against it, whether or not anyone says so.
For money you may need back sooner, two shorter references do the same job: Treasury bills for what the government pays under a year, and term MIBOR for what banks charge each other. A deposit paying less than a T-Bill of the same maturity has already told you something.
The main event
Your bank pays two prices for the same money
A bank funds itself in two places at once. It takes deposits from you at a rate it publishes, and it sells bonds to the market at a yield the market sets. Same balance sheet, same credit, two numbers.
Six of India's largest deposit takers, live. In each row the deposit is the published card rate and the bond beside it is that bank's own paper, picked as the closest in remaining tenor so the legs are honestly matched.
| Institution | Its deposit | Its own bond | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
 State Bank of IndiaScheduled commercial bank | 6.05% 5 years and up to 10 years Full ladder | 7.28% 9 years left · AAA INE062A08231 | +123 bp traded 10 Jul 2026 |
 HDFC BankScheduled commercial bank | 6.15% 5 years 1 day – 10 years Full ladder | 7.86% 7 years left · AAA INE040A08AF2 | +171 bp traded 27 Aug 2026 |
 ICICI BankScheduled commercial bank | 6.50% 5 Years 1 Day to 10 Years Full ladder | 7.70% 8 years left · AAA INE090A08UL3 | +120 bp traded 4 Sept 2026 |
 Axis BankScheduled commercial bank | 6.50% 5 years to 10 years Full ladder | 7.61% 6 years left · AAA INE238A08484 | +111 bp traded 13 Aug 2026 |
 Kotak Mahindra BankScheduled commercial bank | 6.25% 5 years to 10 years Full ladder | 7.39% 3 years left · AAA INE237A08957 | +114 bp traded 11 Dec 2024 |
 Bank of BarodaScheduled commercial bank | 6.00% Above 5 years to 10 years Full ladder | 7.26% 7 years left · AAA INE028A08307 | +126 bp traded 2 Jul 2026 |
Deposit rates are the published retail card for sums under three crore, as of 11 Sept 2026. Yields are the last yield the security actually traded at on the exchange, which is a print rather than a live quote. The security shown is the issuer's own paper closest in remaining tenor to the deposit band beside it.
HDFC Bank pays 6.15% on 5 years 1 day – 10 years. Its own bond INE040A08AF2, with 7 years to run, last traded at 7.86%. That is +171 bp on one credit, worth about 1,71,000 rupees a year on a crore, before tax.
The same thing, drawn
HDFC Bank, its deposit ladder and its bonds, on one axis
The line is the published deposit ladder, stepping as the bands change. Each dot is one of the bank's own bonds at its true remaining maturity and its last traded yield. Nothing is bucketed and nothing is averaged.
Deposit curve, with bonds overlaid
The blue line is HDFC Bank’s published retail FD rate, stepped because a deposit rate is fixed within each tenor band and changes only at the boundary. Each amber dot is one of HDFC Bank’s own bonds, drawn at its exact time left to maturity and its latest traded yield. Deposits and bonds are not like-for-like; see the note below the chart.What HDFC Bank credit yields, from a short deposit to its longest bond
How this is drawn. Retail rate for deposits under ₹3 crore, from HDFC Bank’s published rate card. Fixed for the whole tenor you book, so the line is flat inside each band and steps at the boundary. The blue line is the bank’s retail deposit rate by tenor. The amber dots are the bank’s own bonds, each at its exact time left to maturity and its latest secondary-market traded yield The yield a buyer locks in at today’s market price, not the coupon. It is a traded level from the instrument registry, not an offer to transact, and it moves with the market..
These are not like-for-like, so read the shape, not a head-to-head. A deposit is covered by DICGC insurance up to ₹5 lakh and pays a fixed rate; a bond carries the issuer’s credit and market risk, is sold only in the secondary market, and is taxed differently. Bond yields also differ line to line on seniority, security cover, and call, put or step-up terms. Perpetual (AT1) and market-linked instruments are left out because they have no fixed maturity to place on the axis.
A dot’s yield is its last traded level. Bank bonds trade thinly, so a hollow dot has not traded recently and its level may be weeks old; hover any dot for the exact trade date. The deposit line is today’s published rate card.
This chart sits on every bank page we publish. Open the one holding your money and you will see the same shape.
Read the whole ladder
Longer does not buy you more
On most large cards the best rate sits in the middle of the ladder and the longest lock-in pays less. The band you pick often matters more than the bank you pick.
Best rate on the card vs the rate at the longest band
Retail card, sums under three crore. The best band is the highest rate the card pays at a year or beyond; single-day promotional tenors are excluded. Compare any two cards side by side on the bank comparison.
4 of these 6 cards pay less at their longest band than at their best one. Kotak Mahindra Bank gives up the most: 6.80% at 2 years to less than 3 years against 6.25% at 5 years to 10 years, a drop of 55 basis points for committing for twice as long.
So read the ladder before you lock. Every bank at every tenor, any two cards charted side by side, the one-year table and the five-year table on their own pages, and a separate card entirely once you are above three crore. The FD calculator does the arithmetic.
Money you need back soon
The short end tells the same story
Banks fund weeks and months through certificates of deposit, sold to the market at a yield. The sub-year deposit band sits beside it on the same card.
| Institution | Its deposit | Its own CD or CP | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank Scheduled commercial bank | 5.75% 9 months 1 day – less than 1 year Full ladder | 6.55% 9 months left INE040A16IZ6 | +80 bp traded 10 Sept 2026 |
| ICICI Bank Scheduled commercial bank | 5.50% 185 days to less than 1 year Full ladder | 6.65% 9 months left · A1+ INE090AD6337 | +115 bp traded 1 Sept 2026 |
| Axis Bank Scheduled commercial bank | 5.75% 9 months to less than 1 year Full ladder | 6.40% 9 months left · A1+ INE238AD6CH8 | +65 bp traded 9 Sept 2026 |
| Bank of Baroda Scheduled commercial bank | 5.75% 211 days to 270 days Full ladder | 6.50% 8 months left INE028A16LR2 | +75 bp traded 10 Sept 2026 |
Sub-year deposit bands against each bank's own certificate of deposit or commercial paper, matched on remaining tenor. Money-market paper is issued at a discount and redeems at par, so the return is the yield rather than a coupon.
This is where treasuries park cash for weeks at a time. The whole listed universe is at certificates of deposit and commercial paper, and the under-one-year bonds sit just beyond it.
A different wrapper
The deposit takers that carry no insurance
Finance companies and housing finance companies take deposits too, usually at higher rates. Part of the reason is that these deposits sit outside DICGC cover entirely.
| Institution | Its deposit | Its own bond | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
 Shriram FinanceDeposit-taking NBFC or HFC | 7.25% 36 months – 60 months Full ladder | 8.01% 4 years left · AAA INE721A07SM7 | +76 bp traded 27 Aug 2026 |
 LIC Housing FinanceDeposit-taking NBFC or HFC | 6.90% 5 years Full ladder | 8.00% 5 years left · AAA INE115A07PL0 | +110 bp traded 13 Aug 2026 |
 Sundaram FinanceDeposit-taking NBFC or HFC | 7.25% 36 months Full ladder | 8.44% 3 years left · AAA INE660A08CB2 | +119 bp traded 8 Sept 2026 |
Deposit rates are the published retail card for sums under three crore, as of 11 Sept 2026. Yields are the last yield the security actually traded at on the exchange, which is a print rather than a live quote. The security shown is the issuer's own paper closest in remaining tenor to the deposit band beside it.
Same comparison, different protection. A deposit with a scheduled bank is insured to five lakh per depositor per bank. A deposit with Shriram Finance, LIC Housing Finance or Sundaram Finance is not. Their bonds carry the same credit and, being secured in some cases, can rank ahead of unsecured claims.
What the difference pays for
Four things separate a deposit from a bond
The gap is a price. Here is what it buys.
01
Insurance
Bank deposits are covered by DICGC to five lakh per depositor per bank, principal and interest together. Deposits with a finance company carry none. Bonds carry none either, though a secured bond ranks ahead of unsecured claims.
02
Certainty of price
A deposit is worth face value plus accrued interest on any day. A bond is worth what a buyer will pay, so if rates rise its price falls. Hold to maturity and the yield you bought at is the yield you get, credit permitting.
03
Getting out
Most deposits break early for a penalty of roughly half a percent to one percent. A bond needs a buyer, and whether one is there depends on how actively it trades. Every yield here carries its trade date for that reason.
04
Tax
Deposit interest is taxed as income each year and TDS applies. Bond returns split into coupon and any capital gain on sale, taxed differently by instrument and holding period. That alone can change the ranking.
Where this goes
Two more things worth knowing
A single yield on a single bond is the start of the question.
Questions people ask
Why does a bank pay more on its own bonds than on its fixed deposits?
The two instruments raise money on different terms. A fixed deposit is insured up to five lakh per depositor per bank by DICGC, can usually be broken early for a small penalty, and pays a rate the bank publishes and controls. A bond is bought and sold in the market, its price moves with rates until maturity, and the yield is set by whoever last traded it rather than by the issuer. The difference between the two is what the market pays you for giving up the insurance and the early exit.
Is a corporate bond safer or riskier than a fixed deposit from the same company?
It is the same credit and a different instrument. If the issuer stops paying, both are affected. What differs is the wrapper: bank deposits carry DICGC cover up to five lakh, deposits with an NBFC or housing finance company carry none, and a listed bond can be sold in the market before maturity if a buyer is there. A secured bond also sits ahead of unsecured claims. Read the terms of the specific instrument rather than the name on the door.
What is a good yield on a corporate bond in India right now?
Start from the government curve, because that is the rate with no credit risk attached. Anything above it is being paid to you for credit risk, tenor and how easily the paper trades. Compare a bond against government paper of the same maturity and against other bonds in the same rating band, and the yield stops being a number in isolation and becomes a spread you can judge.
Does a longer fixed deposit always pay more?
No, and this is one of the most common surprises on a rate card. Several large banks pay their highest rate somewhere in the two to three year band and pay less for five years and beyond, because that is where they want the money. Read the whole ladder before you lock, since the difference between the best band and the longest band can be worth more than the difference between two banks.
How often do fixed deposit rates and bond yields change?
A bank republishes its deposit card when it decides to, which can be weeks apart, and every published change lands here the day it happens. Bond yields update whenever the security actually trades, so a liquid bond reprices daily while a thinly held one may carry a print that is several weeks old. Both are stamped with their own as-of date wherever they appear.
Get told when a deposit card moves
Information, not advice
Capera is not a registered investment adviser and nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, hold or sell any deposit or security. Every figure here is a published rate or a last traded price, shown so you can compare like with like and ask better questions. What you do with it stays your decision, and it is worth taking professional advice before you act. Read the full terms.
For treasurers, founders and family offices
Sitting on cash and wondering which of these two prices you are getting?
We will show you what your own banks publish today, where their paper is clearing on the exchange, and what the same tenor pays elsewhere. You see all of it, and the decision stays yours.
Capera
Neutrality
Guarantee
Neutrality guarantee
Prices you can't pay to move.
Capera is editorially independent. We may earn from the platforms and institutions we list, but a commercial arrangement never changes the price or yield we show you.