More and more banks are charging a fee when private customers park credit on their checking and money market accounts. There are currently even banks that charge this “custody fee” for savings of as little as 5,000 euros. According to the latest information from the comparison portal Verivox, more than 450 banks are involved. However, since a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice in April 2021, banks have had to explicitly obtain customer consent for higher prices. Some banks are now threatening anyone who has not agreed to the custody fee even after a long time with terminating the account
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These banks are already giving notice
The Postbank has terminated several customers who had credits of more than 50,000 euros, reports tagesschau.de. Deutsche Bank, to which Postbank belongs, speaks of individual cases in relation to this. A Deutsche Bank spokesman did not say exactly how many customers are affected. Also at Sparkasse Dortmund and Sparkasse Düsseldorf, a low double-digit number of accounts are said to have been terminated due to a lack of approval for the custody fee, as reported by the “Handelsblatt”, among others. Other banks are likely to follow this example. ING is currently considering this. “In the case of a low four-digit number of customers who have not agreed even after repeated reminders, we will now take this step and terminate them in April with a reasonable period of notice,” a spokesman for the direct bank told tagesschau.de. According to tagesschau.de, other institutes such as Commerzbank or Berliner Sparkasse are still waiting and looking for amicable solutions.
Will small savers soon be affected too?
However, more people could soon be given notice, even if they have smaller amounts in their accounts, as Focus reports. At many banks, only 70 percent of customers are said to have agreed to the new terms and conditions with negative interest rates. As soon as the percentage rises to 85 to 90 percent, terminations could also follow for smaller assets, predicts Oliver Mihm, head of the banking consulting firm Investors Marketing.
Will the turnaround in interest rates bring the solution?
However, the conflict could soon be over: If the interest rate turnaround comes, then several banks want to abolish their custody fees. To do this, the European Central Bank (ECB) must abolish its penalty interest rates for banks. However, this is not a concession by the banks, but an automatism. According to Niels Nauhauser, financial expert at the Baden-Württemberg Consumer Advice Centre, many custody contracts stipulate that the custody fee is linked to the ECB interest rate. “If the ECB interest rate rises to zero, the custody fee is automatically waived,” says Nauhauser.
Consumer center advises on negative interest
Are you affected by custody fees? Then you can get advice on Tuesday, April 20, 2022 at 6 p.m. in an online consultation with the Baden-Württemberg Consumer Advice Center. Financial expert Nauhauser would like to clarify customer rights. It is also about banks making alternative investment offers to their customers in order to avoid negative interest rates. You should always critically examine such offers from banks. Participation in the online consultation is free of charge. Interested parties can also submit their questions to the consumer advice center in advance and register for the appointment.