First bank in Romania to pay zero interest for large savings accounts
ING Bank, the local branch of Dutch group ING, will not pay any interest on amounts exceeding RON 1 million (EUR 222,950) placed in the savings account, while the interest rate paid for savings accounts below this threshold will drop to 1.75% per year starting March 2015, reports local Ziarul Financiar.
The Dutch group is most likely trying to encourage affluent customers to open a term deposit account.
Banks must meet a number of prudential rules and can’t use the money from the savings or current accounts to grant long-term loans.
It is the first time a local bank drops the interest on a savings account to zero.
This can get up to 3% per year for some banks, while others barely pay 3% for term deposits.
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