Although strictly comparable data are hard to come by, term deposit margins in the UK look to have risen by more than those in Australia. In the euro area, average margins rose initially by a similar amount to those in the UK, though they have since retraced some of that.
So, on the face of it, it seems likely that a good deal of the recent pressure on deposit rates has reflected common international forces, not just conditions specific to Australia. Graph 6  BIS Review 69/2010  7  Assessment and outlook Let me conclude with a few more general remarks about what all this means and how things might develop from here.