What to do if the bank suddenly wants negative interest rates for your savings?

The investment company J. P. Morgan Asset Management dealt with this question in a representative survey of 2000 men and women over the age of 20.

Almost every second person said they wanted to switch banks in response to negative interest rates.

That was by far the most frequently mentioned reaction.

However, fewer bank customers said they wanted to behave this way than a year ago;

the proportion fell from 60 to 46 percent.

Christian Siedenbiedel

Editor in business.

  • Follow I follow

Perhaps this is due to the fact that more and more banks are introducing negative interest rates and the hope for bank customers of being able to permanently avoid negative interest rates by switching banks has decreased.

It is not clear whether it is because of this or whether more respondents shy away from the hassle of changing banks, the authors of the survey write.

According to figures from the Internet portal Biallo, more than 510 of the 1,300 banks observed are now charging negative interest rates, including a good 470 from private customers.

Distribute money to several banks

In the survey, bank customers were the second most likely to say that they would distribute their money among several banks in order to avoid negative interest rates.

That voted 26 percent.

Most banks have an exemption up to which no negative interest is due: Commerzbank, for example, has been up to 50,000 euros for new customers since August 1, the regulations are similar for existing customers, but must be agreed individually.

In the Deutsche Bank Group, there is also a limit of 50,000 euros for Postbank customers, and an official limit of 100,000 euros at Deutsche Bank itself, as reported by the comparison portal Verivox.

Many Volksbanks and Sparkassen have similar exemption limits.

If you split your money, you may be able to stay below the limits.

Invest with more risk in the capital market

However, there has been an increase in the number of bank customers who can imagine investing part of their money in the capital market.

The corresponding advertising by the banks may have had an effect here.

In any case, the already high valuations on the stock markets do not appear to be an additional deterrent.

According to the survey, the proportion of bank customers who can imagine this rose from 9 to 24 percent over the year.

This finding is additionally supported by data from the Deutsche Bundesbank, according to the study: Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a “gratifying, ever increasing” involvement of Germans in the capital market.

After all, 18 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to invest in tangible assets such as real estate.

17 percent announced that they would like to spend the money, for example on vacation or a new car.

Two percent said they wanted to hoard cash or invest in gold.

The proportion of those who say they simply don't want to do anything has fallen sharply.

That was 23 percent last year, now only 5 percent.

“It is understandable that savers, who have been troubled for years, are annoyed by the penalty interest,” said Matthias Schulz from the fund company.

Instead of being rewarded with interest for their savings, they would have to pay more and more frequently to park money.

It is therefore important for savers to look for alternatives.