A small regional bank in the foothills of the Swiss Alps is telling clients they can’t keep more than 10,000 Swiss francs stored in their bank accounts.
The savings bank Ersparniskasse Affoltern im Emmental had to reject funds from new customers for the first time last year, «Berner Zeitung» (behind paywall, in German) reported Friday, citing the bank’s financial report.
The reason for this counter-intuitive move, are negative interest rates imposed by the Swiss National Bank on banks, which exceed a certain threshold on their sight deposits, the bank said.
Banker's Bleeding Heart
As a banker, the measure made his heart bleed, CEO Christoph Mueller, told the newspaper, adding that ten or 15 years ago, «we thanked everyone warmly who came to us with their money.»
In order not to have to penalize its cherished customers as a result of breaching this threshold, the bank has opted to keep the maximum amount held in clients' accounts at 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,800).
Restricted Cash
Alternatively, clients can choose to deposit their money for a five-year period with the bank, providing it with capital for its mortgage lending activities.
The bank, which soon turns 150, posted an annual net profit of 720,000 francs last year.
