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No longer a matter of course: Interest entry in a savings book (archive image)
Photo: Daniel Karmann / dpa
According to an evaluation by the comparison portal Verivox, a total of 197 banks and savings banks are now raising negative interest rates.
At the turn of the year alone, 24 credit institutions introduced a custody fee or tightened existing regulations.
The comparison portal evaluated the price notices published on the Internet by around 800 banks and savings banks.
The information relates to call money accounts.
In some cases, however, the negative interest rate also applies to the checking account.
According to Vervivox, 20 institutes introduced new penalty interest rates at the beginning of the year.
Three more lowered the tax exemption, one institute tightened the negative interest rate.
According to the information, 58 of the 197 institutes grant their customers significantly less than 100,000 euros in exemption, of which nine banks charge penalty interest from the first euro.
In some cases, however, allowances can be agreed individually.
The three online banks with the largest numbers of customers have also introduced negative interest rates.
"The wave of negative interest rates is rolling across the country with undiminished force," said Oliver Maier, managing director of Verivox Finanzvergleich GmbH.
A trend reversal is not in sight for the time being.
"After the historic economic downturn in the wake of the corona pandemic, higher interest rates are not an issue for the foreseeable future," says Maier.
"In the coming weeks and months, many more banks are likely to introduce negative interest rates."
Commercial banks currently have to pay 0.5 percent interest when they park excess funds with the European Central Bank (ECB).
Even if there are now tax exemptions for certain sums, the industry is complaining of billions.
More and more financial institutions are passing on the costs in whole or in part and charging customers negative interest.
Savings record in the corona year
Because of concerns about short-time work or unemployment, many people kept their money together in the Corona crisis year, and the closings in retail slowed down consumption.
DZ Bank is assuming a record savings rate of 16 percent for 2020, while the BVR banking association even forecast a value of around 17 percent at the beginning of December.
For the year as a whole, private households in Germany put 16 or 17 euros on the high edge of 100 euros of disposable income, according to these calculations.
According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, the highest savings rates to date in Germany were measured in 1991 and 1992 at 12.9 percent each.
"Most of the funds, however, simply stayed in the current accounts and were not invested," wrote DZ bank economist Michael Stappel.
When interest rates are low, many investors “don't know what to do with released or new investment funds”.
In the meantime, more than 28 percent of the total financial assets of an estimated 7.1 trillion euros - around 2 trillion euros - are permanently "parked", mainly in the form of sight deposits that can be quickly reallocated if necessary, such as overnight money.
According to consumer advocates, negative interest rates are only permitted for existing and new customers if the custody fee has been explicitly agreed with them.
It is not enough just to change the general terms and conditions.
Verivox points out that not all banks publish their price notice online or show negative interest rates.
Some instead make individual agreements with wealthy clients.
In fact, more than 197 financial institutions are likely to demand a custody fee from private customers, it said.
For comparison: According to the latest data from the Bundesbank, there were last 1717 credit institutions in Germany.
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dab / dpa