The times when banks tried to keep all customer deposits away from their necks with negative interest rates seem to be over for good: In recent days, at any rate, new news of interest rate hikes by individual institutions has been constantly pouring in.
Christian Siedenbiedel
Editor in business.
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Often, banks are keen to acquire new customers and deposits, but are less willing to pay higher interest rates on their old deposits. Therefore, the highest interest rates usually only apply to new customers and are limited to a few months. Or, more recently, at some institutions also for new deposits from existing customers. In any case, interest rates on old deposits are usually much lower, but in some cases they are also rising.
1822direkt raises interest rates to 3 percent
On average, the interest rate on the call money account now reaches 1.7 percent, according to the consumer portal Biallo. Individual banks, however, offer much more, at least for new customers. For example, 1822direkt, the direct bank subsidiary of Frankfurter Sparkasse, raised its overnight interest rates for new customers from 2.5 to 3 percent on Monday. The interest rate is guaranteed for six months. On July 1, the interest rate for existing customers will also be raised from 0.3 to 0.6 percent.
Even slightly higher interest rates are offered by the Swedish TF Bank. The institution was founded in 1987 in Borås, Sweden, as a credit intermediary, but is now a fully-fledged bank and has even been listed on the stock exchange since 2016. The bank has raised its overnight interest rates for new customers, guaranteed for four months, from 3.15 to 3.5 percent. Interest rates for existing customers will remain at 1.3 percent. There were further interest rate hikes at two banks that belong to the Spanish Santander Group: Openbank and Suresse Direkt Bank now pay new customers 3.3 percent for six months.
Raiffeisenbank Hochtaunus now offers 3.2 percent
According to Biallo, the most attractive call money account with German deposit insurance is currently offered by Raiffeisenbank im Hochtaunus ("Meine Bank"), based in Bad Homburg. The cooperative bank, which operates nationwide, has raised its interest rates for new customers to 3.2 percent. This interest rate applies to amounts up to 100,000 euros and is guaranteed for four months. From the fifth month onwards and for amounts above that, the institution pays variable interest, which is currently 1.5 percent.
Consorsbank, a direct bank based in Munich and Nuremberg, which belongs to the French group BNP Paribas, has also been paying 3.2 percent since last week, guaranteed for six months, for amounts up to one million euros. After that, a variable interest rate applies, which is currently 0.6 percent per year. With it, the deposits are covered by both the French statutory deposit insurance scheme and the voluntary deposit insurance scheme of the Association of German Banks.
There is a special feature at Volkswagen Bank: There, new customers receive 3.1 percent for six months – existing customers actually only 0.65 percent. However, existing customers have recently also reported that they have been contacted – and that they have also been offered the higher interest rate. Even if only for amounts that are newly deposited into the account within a set period of time. ING recently proceeded in a similar way.
What's next? The European Central Bank has signaled that it wants to raise key interest rates further. Jari Stehn, chief European economist at investment bank Goldman Sachs, now expects interest rate hikes of 0.25 percentage points for June and July. Then the ECB deposit rate would be 3.75 percent, the main refinancing rate would be 4.25 percent and the marginal lending rate would be 4.5 percent.
"Then, at the top, the four before the decimal point in the overnight money should be cracked quickly," says Horst Biallo from the consumer portal of the same name.