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Negative interest on credit When it suddenly costs you to save

As of: 06/18/2021 8:58 a.m.

Up to now, banks have mainly charged new customers with negative interest rates. It also affects existing customers more and more frequently. Consumer advocates advise to be clear about what you want to do with the money.

From Iris Völlnagel, SWR

Anger and complaints from consumers are part of everyday life for Josephine Holzhäuser, financial expert at the consumer center in Rhineland-Palatinate. But since the beginning of the year, more and more consumers have come to her who have left their financial institutions “betrayed and sold” feel. The reason: More and more banks and savings banks are introducing negative interest rates on current and savings accounts.

More than 345 institutes collect negative interest

Many older people, but also younger ones, now sought advice from consumer advocates. Most of them have been customers for years, have taken out their mortgage lending or insurances with the banks, and now they are being threatened with termination if they are not willing to pay negative interest, says Holzhäuser. “From my point of view, this is a clumsy business practice.” People feel compelled and pressured. Many older people are overwhelmed – especially those who are not so fit online. Since the beginning of the year, more than 170 banks and savings banks in Germany have introduced negative interest rates. This is the result of a study on the www.biallo.de Internet portal. Every third bank only grants an allowance of 25,000 euros. The consumer portal Verivox also regularly researches and publishes the product overviews and price lists of around 1,300 credit institutions that are accessible online. As a result, more than 345 banks have now introduced negative interest rates for private customers. 19 banks charge fees for the call money account, which is usually free of charge. This also creates a de facto negative interest rate. In addition, there are the banks that do not publish any information, according to Verivox. Most recently, Postbank announced that it would lower the exemption limits for savings deposits on June 21 and one for new customers “Custody fee” from 50,000 euros on the current account and 25,000 euros on the daily allowance account. Contributions above this limit are charged with 0.5 percent. So far, the tax exemption has been 100,000 euros.

Banks point their fingers at the ECB

As a reason for that “Custody fee” the financial institutions repeatedly claim that they themselves pay negative interest rates to the European Central Bank (ECB). In 2014 it began to charge penalty interest on money that the commercial banks park in their central bank accounts. However, the banks are now granted exemptions. Critics therefore complain that the financial houses are doing business with negative interest rates.

This practice will not change in the foreseeable future, fears consumer advocate Holzhäuser. “If one bank does it, the others follow suit. If the pace continues, one no longer looks to see which bank has no negative interest, but from which tax exemption”, so wooden houses. David Bode from the legal enforcement team of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations knows whether the introduction of negative interest is generally permissible. The association has filed suits at different courts in several federal states. It concerns both current and overnight money accounts. How long the litigation will take is difficult to estimate, according to Bode. There could possibly be first judgments in the current calendar year. In the end, the Federal Court of Justice may have to decide.

Consumers in a bind

A basic distinction should be made between existing and new customers. The latter advises the financial expert Holzhäuser to look at the small print before signing the contract. In the meantime, it is noted in the general terms and conditions whether negative interest is charged above a certain amount.

This is different with existing customers, where changes require an individual agreement. In the past year, the banks would have allowed existing customers to talk to them. In the meantime, the banks are going to terminate their business relationships. “That has another dimension”, so the consumer advocate. “As a customer, I then have to decide whether to sign or not.” In the meantime, however, she advises signing more and more often, according to Holzhäuser. “If people want to stay with the bank, they have to bite the bullet and watch the further case law.” If you don’t want to sign, you shouldn’t wait for the bank to give notice of termination, advises the consumer advocate. “We cannot yet assess how such a termination will affect Schufa, for example.” Alternatively, consumers could look for a new bank. As a rule, you have some time because the bank contacts its customers one to two months in advance.

Shift money, check investments

Many banks charged negative interest for amounts in excess of 100,000 euros. This corresponds to the amount of the deposit protection; that is, the amount for which the bank guarantees in the event of a total failure. If you have more in your account, you should distribute your money between several accounts at different institutions, according to the advice of the financial expert.

After all, everyone should check why they have so much money in their account at all, according to the consumer advocate. The following also applies: do not accept every offer without review. “In case of doubt, it is better to go with negative interest than to invest the money headlong.” A unit-linked annuity insurance with a term of twelve years is not an adequate offer for people over 70, according to Holzhäuser. You can also deposit the money in a locker or safe at any time. Just leaving it at home is the worst option because of the risk of theft, according to the financial expert

More climate-friendly flying Less emissions thanks to biofuel

Status: 06/17/2021 6:04 p.m.

Contrails on the horizon show: An airplane was traveling here. But they also say something about the emissions that are released when flying. A new study shows: biofuel is more climate-friendly.

From Iris Völlnagel, SWR

You can see them most clearly in the early hours of the morning: Since more planes have started taking off from Frankfurt Airport, the contrails in the sky over Mainz have been thickening. They seem harmless, but climate researchers have long been concerned about them. Not because they are so-called chemtrails, as some conspiracy tellers suspect, but because they contribute to global warming. Because: Even before CO2, contrails cause the largest share of global warming through aviation. This is what researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) found out together with NASA.

Contrails become “warming” clouds

While in flight, aircraft emit black carbon particles – so-called soot particles – because the fuel is not completely burned. In addition to soot, aircraft exhaust also contain water vapor. At high altitudes, where the air is very cold, the water condenses on the particles and freezes. At an altitude between 8,000 and 12,000 meters, ice crystals form, which we see as contrails. These ice crystals can last for several hours and form high clouds – so-called contrail cirrus. Depending on the position of the sun and the surface, they have a warming or cooling effect. Research shows that global warming effects predominate.

Mixed fuel helps the climate

For years, scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have been researching, in collaboration with NASA, whether airplanes run on biofuel in a more environmentally friendly way. With their experiments, the scientists were able to prove that using a 50-50 mixture of kerosene and sustainable fuel can reduce the number of ice crystals in the contrails by half.

“We were able to clearly demonstrate that fewer soot particles in the exhaust gases through sustainable fuels result in fewer ice crystals in contrails,” says Christiane Voigt from the DLR Institute for Atmospheric Physics. “A smaller number of ice crystals reduces the additional energy input into the atmosphere caused by contrails. This significantly reduces the climate-warming effect of the contrail clouds.” The scientists assume a percentage of 20 to 30 percent.

Flying for Science

The scientists had already carried out the tests in 2018. For this purpose, the DLR research aircraft ATRA, an Airbus A320, flew from the US military base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate with various fuel mixtures over Germany. It was followed with a one to two minute delay by NASA’s CD-8 research aircraft. With the help of measuring devices, the scientists from NASA, DLR and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry were able to record data on emissions and contrails. They also tried different fuel blends – including a sustainable biofuel.

There are now individual attempts by the airlines to refuel their planes with biofuel. In May 2021, Air France announced its first long-haul flight from Paris to Montreal, Canada, using partially sustainable fuel made from cooking oil. During the test flight, there was kerosene and 16 percent biofuel in the tank. So far, a maximum of 50 percent biofuel has been allowed in aircraft, says Martin Kaltschmitt, head of the Institute for Environmental Technology and Energy Economics at the Technical University of Hamburg.

The challenge of fuel development

The greatest challenge on the way to climate-friendly flying is the development of biofuel, say scientists. Biofuel, so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), is currently mainly produced from old vegetable and edible oils. In contrast to conventional kerosene based on mineral oil, biofuels are not subsidized and are much more expensive, also because they can only be produced in small quantities.

“Bio-based fuels will not be the only solution. With bio-based fuel, we don’t get the amount we need,” says Patrick Le Clercq, ECLIF project manager at the DLR Institute for Combustion Technology in Stuttgart. The future also lies with hydrogen, believes Le Clerq. In further experiments, the scientists from DLR and NASA now want to investigate how one hundred percent biofuel affects the atmosphere

Scarcity also in the countryside Sought-after building land

Status: 10.06.2021 10:24 a.m.

For a long time, rural regions were considered the ideal place to realize the dream of an affordable home. In the meantime, not only have the construction costs increased. Finding a plot of land is often difficult. From Iris Völlnagel, SWR Sometimes Dirk Gaul-Roßkopf would like to be able to do magic. The mayor of Planig in Rhineland-Palatinate receives at least three inquiries per week, mainly from young families. You are looking for an apartment or a building plot. Many of them come from or live nearby. There are now around 100 inquiries piling up on the mayor’s desk. He would like to offer the families a home in the district of Bad Kreuznach, which has almost 3,000 inhabitants. From his point of view, the place has a lot to offer: many associations, two daycare centers, one elementary school. A train stop is to come in 2027 and the cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden can be reached in less than 40 minutes via the motorway. “That is why it is very important that the young people can stay here and that others settle down.”

Lack of living space – a nationwide problem

Only what to do when there is neither affordable housing nor building space? A problem that now exists all over Germany, especially in the larger cities and metropolitan areas. Many apartments in Germany are considered overcrowded. This means that an apartment has too few rooms in relation to the number of people. According to a survey by the Federal Statistical Office, this applied to 6.4 million people in 2019.

Every week the mayor Gaul-Roßkopf receives several inquiries from interested parties for building plots. Image: Iris Völlnagel In 2018, the federal government decided made their residential summit to have 1.5 million new apartments built in the current legislative period. That would have been around 375,000 per year. According to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office, a good 306,000 apartments were completed in 2020, around 293,000 in 2019 and around 287,000 in 2018.

Sought-after building land

But it’s not just about apartments, but also about the space to build. In the center of Planig there are ten building plots that would be ideal as building sites. “Ideal building plots, that would give at least three to four homes,” says Gaul-Roßkopf as he walks through the town. He has spoken to the owners several times, but they neither want to sell nor build on it. This is also a problem in many cities. The federal government tried to counter this with the building land modernization law. It is intended to strengthen the municipalities’ right of first refusal. For example, the law stipulated that in areas with tense housing markets, municipalities would be given more time and opportunities to purchase land or buildings for sale themselves in order to then build new apartments. Sounds good, but is of no use in practice, says Gaul-Roßkopf. “Where should a municipality like us, which is struggling with a budget freeze, still spend money on building land?”

Mayor Gaul-Roßkopf has high hopes for an ongoing construction project in Planig. Image: Iris Völlnagel

Future in plan

The mayor Gaul-Roßkopf is therefore placing a lot of hope in a new construction project. At the entrance to the community, several blocks with two-story single-family houses are being built on 4800 square meters. Most of the objects have already been sold, costs: from 300,000 euros. In addition, the community on the outskirts is in the process of developing a new development area. “The further we go outside, the more expensive it gets. Because wherever roads and everything have to be made, the price of land will also go up,” said the mayor. Compared to some big cities, the prices in Planig may still be cheap. But the dream of a cheap country apartment is quickly over.