Kreissparkasse demands penalty interest from the first euro: customers outraged - "Immense fee increase"

Created: 12/29/2021, 05:56 AM

From: Josef Ametsbichler

Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg is tightening the custody fee screw.

That annoys customers.

© Julian Stratenschulte

Penalty interest - that's the nightmare of savers and business people.

The Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg is lowering the tax exemptions significantly at the turn of the year.

That brings trouble with customers.

District

- 28 years ago, when he founded his law firm, the tax advisor Andreas Kießling opened a business account at Sparkasse Ebersberg.

Today the institute is called Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg - and Andreas Kießling, who now employs 20 people in his office in Aßling, wants to change banks.

“The circus is too big for me,” says the 63-year-old entrepreneur.

"I will leave the Sparkasse."

Read more news from the Ebersberg region here.

By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Ebersberg newsletter.

From the turn of the year: Penalty interest at Sparkasse - "Immense fee increase"

For him, the circus is the custody fee that the Sparkasse demands from him from the turn of the year.

It is popularly called penalty interest.

Half a percent of the credit, plus 0.1 percent administration fee for business customers, starting with the first euro in the account.

"That is an immense fee increase," says Kießling.

With an example of 100,000 euros in the account, there are still 600 euros in additional costs per year.

Private customers will also pay this negative interest on January 1, 2022, on every cent above the tax exemption of 25,000 euros.

Charitable organizations are only affected from 100,000 euros.

A private bank customer from the western district, who does not want to read his name in the newspaper, reports that he has to switch his money after several consultations.

Sparkasse: From 25,000 euros private customers pay penalty interest - customers angry

With low-risk alternative investments, he can "get out of about zero".

After initial trouble, he was able to come to an amicable agreement with the bank.

"Of course, it is not satisfactory that you are penalized for saving with negative interest," says the man.

Video: Fewer and fewer machines - how do you still get cash

Tax advisor Kießling, in turn, reports that the Sparkasse has meanwhile threatened to terminate the account contract if he does not agree to the new interest rate conditions.

He will let it come down to it and have made an appointment with a bank very close by, which still grants an allowance of 250,000 euros.

He has also written a letter of complaint to Robert Niedergesäß (CSU) who, as Ebersberg's district administrator, is a member of the administrative board of the public-law financial institution.

The text is available to the editors, but there has not yet been an answer.

Penalty interest at Kreissparkasse: Bank makes it clear - must act economically

For this, a spokesman for the bank justifies the penalty interest at the request of development cooperation: "As a competitive credit institution, the Kreissparkasse is obliged to act economically." The constant zero and negative interest rates are a considerable burden.

With the custody fee charged as a result, “we are moving within the framework of our market environment”.

The amount is based on the interest rate for the deposit facility, at which the commercial banks can park money with the European Central Bank (ECB).

It has been negative since 2014 and has remained at minus 0.5 percent since September 2019.

The Aßling tax advisor does not want to accept this argument.

After all, the bank does not have to park all customer funds with the ECB.

"That is not honest transparency," says Kießling.

It is understandable that the savings banks have problems in view of the current situation.

But with branch closings and now the custody fee, they moved further and further away from their original mandate to “enable the rural population to access the banking system”.

Three board members together earn almost two million euros a year

It annoys him that the Kreissparkasse has shown rich profits for years - around 24 million euros in 2020 and around 31 million in the two years before.

He also quotes the Federal Gazette, according to which the three board members of the bank together come to an annual salary of 1.974 million euros.

"This is purely a self-service shop for the board members, with the tolerance of a CSU district administrator," says Kießling.

By this he means Ebersbergs Niedergesäß, the regular director of the administrative board, i.e. the supervisory body, is the neighbor, Christoph Göbel (CSU), district administrator in the Munich district.

In response to a DC request, the latter defends the Sparkasse's negative interest rate almost verbatim with the credit institution itself. "Only as an economically sound company can it provide services for its customers on site."

Custody fee: Sparkasse expect additional income of eleven million euros

According to its own information, the Kreissparkasse expects additional income of eleven million euros from 2022 onwards from the custody fee.

According to our forecasts, the business result for 2021 “will be below the level of the previous year”, writes the spokesman for the financial institution.

Incidentally, the list of prices and services stipulates that the Sparkasse can voluntarily waive the penalty interest.

That is a decision of the board of directors, for example if a customer has "another profitable business", explains the bank spokesman.

However, there are a few special cases.

Tax advisor Kießling and the private customer from the western district, who want to remain anonymous, are apparently not among them.