Consumers are suffering these days: Rising costs everywhere you look, high inflation and then the banks come along, cancel free accounts one after the other and charge negative interest on account balances above certain exemption limits, which are constantly falling. ING wants to put an end to this in the foreseeable future.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is still sticking to the negative base rate, but some banks expect that this will not remain the case for much longer. ING is one of them, and conclusions are already being drawn.
ING announces end of penalty interest: date pending decision
“As soon as the European Central Bank abandons its negative interest rate policy, we will no longer charge private customers custody fees. That’s a promise,” announced Nick Jue, CEO of ING Germany (source: Handelsblatt).
Customers should be able to rely on such a promise. But when is it? The ING cannot say with certainty either. Jue assumes that the ECB’s interest rate will not change in the coming months. However, the first increase is expected in the fourth quarter of 2022. Negative interest rates could then fall in the first quarter of 2023, the banks have to pay to the ECB. “That would be the time when we would eliminate the custody fees for our customers,” Jue continues. However, the fact that this schedule is actually achieved is not part of the promise.
ING is one of six out of 20 financial institutions surveyed by the Handelsblatt that make it clear: the ones that are unloved by bank customers There should only be penalty interest until the key interest rate is raised again by the ECB.
At least when shopping online you can save something with these tips:
This is how the custody fee works at ING
The custody fee at ING for new customers is currently 0.5 percent, which is customary in the industry. They apply to account balances over 50,000 euros. A calculation example: Anyone who has 60,000 euros in an ING account on the high edge, according to the bank, pays 0.5 percent penalty interest per year on the amount that exceeds the limit of 50,000 euros, i.e. on 10,000 euros. While the money is in the bank, the amount is shrinking every year. In the first year there is a minus of 50 euros, in the second one of 49.75 euros if no further money is paid in.
In addition to ING, many other banks in Germany have introduced penalty interest. In some cases, however, the courts have recovered them.