Negative interest rates are a growing nuisance for bank customers. The Berlin district court considers it inadmissible and has now sentenced Sparda-Bank to repayment. What does the verdict mean for savers?
More and more banks are demanding negative interest rates on their credit balances from their customers. But the Berlin Regional Court has now decided that these so-called custody fees are not permitted. The Sparda-Bank Berlin, against which the judgment is directed, is therefore no longer allowed to charge negative interest on current and overnight money accounts and has to repay the affected customers. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Sparda-Bank Berlin had been charging 0.5 percent minus interest annually for credit balances on current and overnight accounts that exceeded a certain amount for a good year. The exemption was 25,000 euros for current accounts and 50,000 euros for overnight money. This custody fee is “incompatible with the essential basic ideas of the legal regulation,” says the reasoning for the judgment. The court considers the safekeeping of money to be an elementary function of the account, which cannot be priced as a special service. “The clause therefore puts the consumer at an unreasonable disadvantage.”
More than 400 banks charge negative interest
The judgment is not yet final and Sparda-Bank Berlin has announced that it will appeal. However, should the judgment endure in higher instances, the financial institutions would face the next hammer after the BGH judgment on inadmissible fee increases. Because more than 400 banks and savings banks are now charging negative interest rates from private customers – and the trend is rising. This source of income could now be turned off by the courts.
The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), which brought the lawsuit against Sparda-Bank Berlin, welcomed the decision. “This is a very good judgment for consumers. The Berlin Regional Court is sending a clear signal against the attempt by many banks to charge customers with custody fees in the form of negative interest,” says vzbv trainee lawyer David Bode.
More lawsuits pending
The consumer advice centers want to ensure that negative interest rates are generally classified as inadmissible and have therefore initiated further lawsuits at various places of jurisdiction. The consumer advocates are currently carrying out a total of six lawsuits against various banks and savings banks. The outcome of the proceedings appears open, especially as one case has already been decided differently than in Berlin.
In July of this year, the Leipzig Regional Court ruled that Sparkasse Vogtland may very well levy custody fees (Az. 05 O 640/20). In this case, the consumer center Saxony is now appealing to the Dresden Higher Regional Court. The legal battle over negative interest rates is only just beginning. Bank customers will have to wait a little longer until judgments from higher courts are available.
Also read:
Penalty interest even for small bank balances – who is affected and what customers can do
Invalid account fees: This is how customers get their money back stress-free
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
