Expensive money storage: Bank vaults are becoming more and more popular, but there are also other ways out of negative interest.
Image: Julia Zimmermann
Savers can escape the negative interest rate more easily than they think. This can also be a welcome occasion to rethink your private investment strategy.
SAs soon as the bank announces it, many customers react emotionally. In particular, if the letter announces a so-called custody fee that is to be paid in the future from a certain amount. As a rule, banks and savings banks charge 0.5 percent. The letters are similar in wording, as are the arguments: the bank is unfortunately forced to react to the European Central Bank’s low interest rate policy. But the financial experts are happy to advise and point out alternatives – so that investors can avoid the custody fee on giro, overnight money or securities settlement accounts. Calculators are also sometimes made available which consumers can use to calculate the amount of the fee in euros and cents.
More and more consumers are affected by negative interest rates – or custody fees, as they are called in banking jargon. This is because the number of credit institutions that demand a custody fee from their customers above a certain amount has increased significantly in the past year. In 2021, according to the finance portal Biallo.de, around 300 banks and savings banks introduced a corresponding fee for money in overnight money or current accounts. In addition, the exemptions have fallen, up to the amount of which consumers are spared the fee.
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