NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES

85pss

As i understand this, it means I will  charged to have savings.   No interest but I will loose money now!    Is this correct?      Let's hope i doesn't come to this.  

surreysaver

LET'S HOPE SO

RobM99

I don't think it'll be "negative interest rates" as such - more like 0% interest paid to us but bank charges in place for everything, so in effect a negative rate.  That's just my opinion.

Alter_ego

The negative rate in question is the Bank of England base rate, not savings rates.

DavidAC

Savings rates will most likely follow the base rate down though. I wonder if they asked NS&I before they cut.

wmb194

Alter_ego said:

The negative rate in question is the Bank of England base rate, not savings rates.

Logically the next question is whether it will be passed on. If the experience in the Eurozone so far is anything to go by it *might* be but only on large balances e.g., ABN Amro >€2.5m, ING >€250k and there are still savings accounts to be found which pay not a lot of interest.

Sailtheworld

Stick with NS&I. It's unlikely that any financial organisation within a government orbit is going to have the IT and processes in place to introduce negative rates.

unkle

I think we are still a way away from negative interest rates for the average consumer.

onomatopoeia99

If the base rate goes to -0.25%, theoretically my mortgage rate should go to -0.01%, although I expect there is small print that stops the building society from having to pay me interest on my mortgage.  

JustAnotherSaver

I also hope I don't get hit by a bus when crossing the road or that it'll be some time after I'm dead before an asteroid significant enough hits the earth. 

nbrewitt

Don't panic, in the Country's which have had Central Bank negative rates for some years, Consumer deposits have never gone negative just to zero or slightly above zero. Charging consumers for deposits would just cause a run on the banks which benefits no one althogh as rates edge even nearer to zero I expect there might be a few more bulging materesses in the coming months.