Danske Bank, the troubled Danish institution which is struggling to overcome the consequences of a large money laundering scandal, is among those European banks that have been dealing in negative interest rates the longest. Denmark was arguably the first country on the continent to introduce them after the 2008 crash. In the summer of 2012, the central bank lowered its benchmark rate to -0.2% and has kept it around or below zero ever since.

Benchmark interest rate in Denmark
With unprecedented low interest rates in Europe, many financial institutions have made a decision to pass the burden on to their account holders and even introduce fees on large cash balances. However, Danske has recently vowed not to punish its wealthy depositors with additional charges, unlike other major banks in the region. Chief Financial Officer Christian Baltzer warned in a recent interview with Bloomberg that charging customers with large deposits could pose a risk to society, as he put it.

Baltzer said that Danske acknowledges the difficult conditions in the financial sector, but emphasized Denmark’s leading bank does not plan to impose negative interest rates on personal savings or current accounts. In his opinion, charging private customers to hold money in their accounts could add new risks, one of which would be the erosion of the progress toward developing a cashless society. He further commented:

Doing so could have a negative impact at the societal level, including the risk of customers withdrawing more deposits in cash.

Negative interest rates are becoming the norm in Denmark, and corporate clients have already felt the brunt of the shift. Some banks admit they are about to pass the costs to retail depositors as well, something Danske views as a risky move and states they’re not even considering. Also, the Danish bankers association is now trying to convince Denmark’s central bank to introduce measures mitigating the pain for account holders.

Sub-zero rates have left investors in the Nordic country and elsewhere in Europe with very few options. Denmark’s government debt is currently trading at negative yields across all maturities. For example, the yield on the 10-year bonds has dropped to -0.6%. By the way, that’s not a phenomenon isolated only to the Scandinavian region. Bond yields in the rest of Europe and in industrialized countries elsewhere have been close to zero or negative for some time.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: news.bitcoin.com