If the German banks had written a children’s song in the past few months, it might sound like this: “Oh, how good that no one knows that I don’t pass on high interest rates.” Although the ECB has raised the key interest rate from zero to 4.5 percent since July 2022 in the fight against high inflation, German savers are hardly getting anything out of it. The reason is simple: financial institutions, savings banks and Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks prefer to put the difference in their own pockets. And for as long as possible. It is expected that the ECB will lower the key interest rate again for the first time in June. Declining inflation makes this possible. But even though the interest rate decision has not yet been made, Germany’s banking sector has already reacted – again to the detriment of customers.
Call money and fixed-term deposits: German banks skimp on interest rates – what customers can do – Economy
