Many customers are downright grateful to their bank if they waive the negative interest rates or even pay a few per thousand interest rates.

But gratitude is misplaced.

The banks have not had to pay penalty interest to the European Central Bank (ECB) for six months.

Since September they have been receiving interest on parked deposits again.

First 0.75 percent, then 1.5 percent and for a few weeks now 2 percent.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in Business.

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Many Volksbanks and savings banks are sticking to zero interest on call money and are happy about their increased profit margins.

Most private banks also let their existing customers starve at measly interest rates.

Call money market leader ING pays 0.3 percent.

"Many bank representatives had repeated, almost like a mantra, that the industry initially wanted to hold back on interest rate competition," says Oliver Geiseler, banking specialist at the consulting firm Capco.

"But now the first stone has fallen, and we see the beginning of old interest rates with high pressure on the margins of the banks."

With Trade Republic, the largest neo-broker struck a peg on Wednesday: 2 percent interest is now available on the accounts for money available every day - even for existing customers, without a time limit and up to a sum of 50,000 euros.

Trade Republic thus outperforms all call money offers on the market, except Consorsbank, which pays 2.1 percent.

However, this only applies to new customers and only for six months.

"It's a clever move by Trade Republic, it opens up the young company to new customer groups and gets more money into its cycle, which can then flow much more easily into shares and ETFs," says Geiseler.

The company will try to become the central point of contact for customers' investment decisions.

"In addition, it will heat up competition and should even startle traditional banks," says Geiseler.

Trade Republic itself sees the offer as a logical next step in business development.

"The interest rate environment has changed, and we want to pass this on to our customers, and we can do that with our very efficient structure," says founder Christian Hecker.

"We now have a very well-rounded range of savings interest, ETFs, shares and crypto, all in one app and covered by German deposit insurance." He describes the course of the 2022 financial year as very successful.

"We have more ETF savings plans than all German banks put together, we are the first point of contact for young savers, which is also shown by the increasing number of savings plans and cash inflows," says Hecker.

The market comparison by FMH Finanzberatung shows that call money rates have risen on average from minus 0.1 percent in July to 0.6 percent now.

Max Herbst, founder and managing director of FMH Finanzberatung, does not describe interest rates of 2 percent as a utopian thing: "That is a value that can definitely be offered in the long term in this ECB interest rate environment."

Anyone who values ​​German deposit insurance and ignores the new customer lure offers will currently find the best offer as an existing customer at Akbank with 1.15 percent.

Ford Bank pays 1.05 percent and Merkur Bank 1 percent.

Those who can also live with foreign deposit protection systems can use the interest pilot intermediary to get to the French Mymoneybank with 1.85 percent interest, the Maltese FCM Bank with 1.51 percent interest and a number of other banks with 1.3 to 1.5 percent interest.

"I wouldn't be more worried about any bank that offers Weltsparen or Zinspilot if the investment period is less than five years," says Max Herbst, founder and managing director of FMH Finanzberatung.

"The ECB and the EU will not want to endanger the financial system because of a smaller bank and should ensure a quick balance here."

If you are looking for new customer offers, you will find them at the aforementioned Consorsbank with 2.1 percent interest, limited to six months.

After that, the current customer interest rate of 0.3 percent applies.

The new customer interest applies to investment amounts of up to one million euros.

ING has been offering 2 percent for new customers since mid-December, but only for four months and only up to 50,000 euros.

Since shortly before Christmas, Volkswagen Bank has been paying 2 percent for new customers for six months and up to 50,000 euros.

The only other provider so far with a 2 before the decimal point is Bigbank, which pays this for new customers for three months and up to 100,000 euros as part of Estonia's deposit insurance.

"It's worth looking around at the moment," says Herbst.

"The banks rely on the inertia of existing customers, and the hubris is high."

If you want to get more than 2 percent, you have to accept fixed-term deposit offers.

The money is then no longer available every day as it is in the call money account.

There are some offers via Weltsparen and Zinspilot that pay 3 percent interest for one year, but without German deposit insurance.

If this is important to you, you will find a maximum of 2 percent from HVB.

Or he has to accept longer terms.

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank pays 3 percent a year for a two-year term.

Without German deposit insurance, up to 3.4 percent are possible.

With longer maturities, the interest rate hardly increases any more.

A sign that the banks prefer to calculate cautiously when it comes to the duration of the turnaround in interest rates.