The Germans missed interest.
And not only in a material sense - also in a larger, one could almost say moral dimension.
It has been almost a decade since interest on savings in bank accounts has practically disappeared.
And with them the reward for something that was always held in high esteem in Germany: saving.
The fact that savers had to pay interest on their savings at the bank instead of receiving any was in stark contradiction to the German idea of virtuous thrift and reprehensible spending on credit.
In no other country in the world has there been such a discussion about whether citizens have a right to positive interest.
A former federal constitutional judge even suggested that negative interest rates could violate the constitution.
No wonder that in Germany the interest rate turnaround by the European Central Bank (ECB) is now being received positively and at most criticized as too late.
However, the two sides of interest are also evident: while savers gradually receive slightly more interest on their savings – albeit still less than inflation eats up – debtors have to pay noticeably more.
When building a house, you notice how well things have been for building borrowers who have hardly had to shell out interest in recent years.
And overdrafting the checking account is becoming as expensive as it used to be.
The turnaround in interest rates is by no means over yet.