UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, will demand interest from clients with large amounts of cash in France, expanding the negative-interest regime abroad.
UBS as a wealth manager aims to advise clients on how to invest their assets and focuses on the management of their wealth, it told French newspaper «Les Echos» (behind paywall, in French). Starting in spring of 2020, UBS will charge French clients interest on large cash holdings.
In Swiss banking, negative interest on large cash amounts has become a regular feature. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) receives about 2 billion Swiss francs ($2 billion) a year in negative interest from the banking industry as a consequence of its monetary policy.
Switzerland has had a negative interest rate for the past five years as the central bank tries to prevent the franc from rising against the major trading currencies.
