Status: 06/30/2021 10:36 a.m.
More and more bank customers in this country have to expect penalty interest if they park larger amounts in their current account. In some cases, this applies to as little as 25,000 euros. The fees are also increasing.
According to a study, the number of credit institutions that charge their customers negative interest has almost doubled within six months. According to an evaluation by the comparison portal Verivox, 349 banks and savings banks now charge a so-called custody fee for larger sums on the overnight or current account (reference date: June 29). That is 171 more than at the end of 2020. “Currently, more financial institutions are being added almost every day,” reports Verivox manager Oliver Maier. At the same time, many institutes tightened their regulations. Verivox evaluates the price notices published on the Internet by around 1,300 banks and savings banks.
According to the information, the financial institutions increased the required custody fees or reduced the allowances up to which a credit balance on the account remains exempt from negative interest. For a long time, a fee was due, especially for large sums of 100,000 euros or more. According to Verivox, at least 102 institutes are now charging negative interest from a total deposit of 50,000 euros or less per customer. Most recently, the direct bank ING announced that it would halve the tax exemption from EUR 100,000 to EUR 50,000 per account from November onwards. To this end, the bank wants to write to the 750,000 affected customers from July who have more than 50,000 euros on their current or overnight accounts and ask them to agree to the introduction of the custody fee.
Sparda-Bank West lowers the exemption limit to 25,000 euros
The customers of Sparda-Bank West were hit even harder. Since April, both existing and new customers have had to pay a custody fee of 0.5 percent from deposits on the current account of 25,000 euros. For overnight money accounts, the exemption limit is 50,000 euros. “We did not take such a step for a long time, but now we have to take it for the benefit of the entire cooperative,” the “Handelsblatt” quoted CEO Manfred Stevermann. He justified the measure with the fact that the interest rate turnaround, which has been forecast again and again, has not materialized and has even moved a long way off due to the corona pandemic.
Large institutions such as Commerzbank and Postbank have announced or have already taken similar steps. “If large houses tighten their negative interest regulations, there is always the risk for savers that this becomes a blueprint for other market participants,” said Verivox manager Maier. “It is quite possible that even more bank customers will have to adjust to lower allowances in the future.”
Bank fees are likely to continue to rise
The reason for the introduction of the penalty interest is the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). She decided that commercial banks would have to pay 0.5 percent interest when they park excess funds with her. The banking association estimates that the local banks will have to pay 15 billion euros for this this year. Many now also pass the costs on to their private customers.
At the same time, many banks and savings banks have recently further increased their account management fees or have announced such a step. After the latest BGH ruling, some institutes have since waived the measures. But experts expect that German bank customers will have to adjust to rising fees for banking services in the medium to long term.