Negative interest rates turn saving, borrowing upside down

davfor

This article looks at the impact of negative interest rates from a variety of perspectives. It may be of interest to people like me who don't have the first hand familiarity that comes with living with them on a day to day basis. Here's a couple of excerpts:

Gerhard Michel, a financial coach in Duesseldorf, says people need to be aware that inflation eats away at savings even in more normal times, though people may be less aware of it when rates are above zero. “If you look at it historically, people with savings accounts never had any kind of interesting performance," he said. “The inflation rate ruins any returns on the government bond market or the savings market - and it has always been that way historically. What shocks people now is that people must say the word zero, or even negative, interest.”

Denmark’s Jyske Bank offers a minus 0.5% interest mortgage while still making a profit. Customers must make monthly principal payments, but the sum they owe is whittled down month by month by the negative rate over the life of the mortgage. The bank is able to fund the mortgage by selling a bond at minus 0.5%, passing the rate to the customer, and making money on modest mortgage fees.

https://marketbeat.com/articles/negative-interest-rates-turn-saving-borrowing-upside-down-2020-02-14/