
ING ends negative interest rates on savings accounts
ING is the first large Dutch bank to scrap negative interest on savings accounts. From October, the interest rates for ING savers with more than 100,000 euros in their account will increase from -0.5 percent to 0 percent, the bank announced. The interest rate for savers with less than 100,000 euros is already 0 percent.
The bank's announcement happened shortly after a new interest rate decision from the European Central Bank (ECB), NU.nl reports. The ECB announced it would raise its main interest rate by 0.25 percent from July - the first increase in more than eleven years. Another 0.25 percent increase is expected in September.
ECB's main interest rate is the interest banks receive or pay for storing money at the central bank. Banks use this rate to determine their own interest rate.
On Friday, Rabobank announced that it would raise its interest on savings by 0.25 percent from August. Then the interest rate for Rabobank savers with over 100,000 euros in their accounts will be -0.25 percent.