Coming to a bank near you? -.25% interest rates

[dc dalton]

Just when you thought a central bank couldn't come up with a dumber ideas to combat this economic mess Sweden's central bank, Riksbank has dropped their deposit interest rate to -.25%. Yup you read that right, they are now charging people to deposit money into their accounts.

It may sound totally off the wall but this is how worried central banks are and as nuts as it may be to think it could happen here it could:

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogsp...gative-25.html

and remember people were buying treasuries at a 'small loss' only 9 months ago because they thought it was the safest place to put their money.

[pirateron]

Sadly, i fear this is just the beginning. Once the US banks see that this bank is still in business, they will realize that charging people to deposit money is a way to make money, and since banks are whores, they will institute this practice. Really, no different than when the first bank started charging a fee to use an ATM machine, shortly after that, all banks started charging a fee. Its all part of the never ending cycle of how can we make more money.

[Guns4Fun]

That's funny. So, what are they going to do when people start keeping thier money in their matress? There wont be much money in circulation and banks wont be able to lend money because they dont have any.

Yeah, great idea. Next will be that you may only ever have a certian amount of cash on hand and they will limit how much you can take out a day / week / month / year.

[dc dalton]

Originally Posted by Guns4Fun

Yeah, great idea. Next will be that you may only ever have a certian amount of cash on hand and they will limit how much you can take out a day / week / month / year.

Actually this goes hand in hand with some countries stating they want to eliminate cash within the next 5 years. I think Holland was the first to announce it but I can see that happening here. Add that to having to pay to deposit money and you see what could happen.

I have said for years that the government would love nothing more than to have a cashless society, just think about their abilities to track sales and money that are now hindered because of cash.

[ALS]

Originally Posted by Guns4Fun

Yeah, great idea. Next will be that you may only ever have a certain amount of cash on hand and they will limit how much you can take out a day / week / month / year.

That crap goes on in the E.U.. There is a limit to how much money you can pull out of your account each year. They charge an over payment fee if you
go over the withdrawal max. But if you want to pay a €500 a year fee you can withdrawal as much of "your" money as you wish.

[dc dalton]

Originally Posted by ALS

That crap goes on in the E.U.. There is a limit to how much money you can pull out of your account each year. They charge an over payment fee if you
go over the withdrawal max. But if you want to pay a €500 a year fee you can withdrawal as much of "your" money as you wish.

Yup that is indeed fact. I am working with an American that is living in France right now on a project and she told me the exact same thing. She said screw it and keeps all her money in US accounts.

[Guns4Fun]

Originally Posted by ALS

That crap goes on in the E.U.. There is a limit to how much money you can pull out of your account each year. They charge an over payment fee if you
go over the withdrawal max. But if you want to pay a €500 a year fee you can withdrawal as much of "your" money as you wish.

WOW - pay to get your own money.

[MostlyHarmless]

Those terms and conditions have existed in Europe for decades. This only applies to savings accounts, not checking or other forms. By law banks are allowed to demand an advanced notice of the withdrawal 3 months ahead and under that condition, one can withdraw any amount without any fee. One has the right to withdraw without the notice, but that costs a fee that is calculated as a negative interest based on the amount withdrawn and the time of notice remaining. Most banks give their customers some grace amount, where they waive the fee if one only withdraws say €1000 within 30 days. And the law limits the negative interest, which is tied to the interest rate the savings account earns at the time of withdrawal.

The reasoning behind all this is that banks in Europe have to deposit a part of the money on checking and savings accounts with the central/federal bank as safety deposit. The percentage they must deposit is lower for savings accounts, because savings accounts are not supposed to be short term investments.

Banks also offer savings accounts with advanced notice terms of 1 and up to 4 years. They yield higher interest rates.


Jan

[Guns4Fun]

Originally Posted by MostlyHarmless

Those terms and conditions have existed in Europe for decades. This only applies to savings accounts, not checking or other forms. By law banks are allowed to demand an advanced notice of the withdrawal 3 months ahead and under that condition, one can withdraw any amount without any fee. One has the right to withdraw without the notice, but that costs a fee that is calculated as a negative interest based on the amount withdrawn and the time of notice remaining. Most banks give their customers some grace amount, where they waive the fee if one only withdraws say €1000 within 30 days. And the law limits the negative interest, which is tied to the interest rate the savings account earns at the time of withdrawal.

The reasoning behind all this is that banks in Europe have to deposit a part of the money on checking and savings accounts with the central/federal bank as safety deposit. The percentage they must deposit is lower for savings accounts, because savings accounts are not supposed to be short term investments.

Banks also offer savings accounts with advanced notice terms of 1 and up to 4 years. They yield higher interest rates.


Jan

Thanks for the info.

However, i don't really care why they do it. Just the fact that they can tell you when and how much money you can withdrawl bugs me. It's your money!!!

Hope it doesn't get to that point here.

[goofin]

Isnt socialism just dandy?