The European Central Bank has raised the key interest rate again – to three percent. The increase is basically good news for bank customers. FOCUS Online says what now applies to loans, the savings book and money market accounts.
With the fifth interest rate hike in a row, the euro monetary authorities are bracing themselves against the persistently high inflation and rate of inflation. The European Central Bank (ECB) is again raising the key interest rate in the euro area by 0.50 percentage points to 3.0 percent.
However, rising interest rates are not always positive.
Negative interest rates will finally disappear. As early as August 2022, many financial institutions had gradually begun to reduce negative interest rates on overnight and fixed-term deposit accounts. Now interest rates could rise.
Savers can hope for higher interest rates for the savings book, fixed-term deposit or call money account.
In view of the rapid rise in interest rates, classic investments such as overnight and time deposit accounts are becoming more attractive. A few months ago, the first banks began to raise interest rates, especially for short, but also medium-term maturities. In the meantime, rising interest rates for savers can be observed across the board, a dynamic that could even accelerate in the coming year.
A look at the interest rate comparisons from FOCUS Online shows how much the interest rate landscape has changed.
In contrast to interest on savings, lending rates are likely to continue to rise.
“Rising market interest rates are usually passed on directly to customers here,” says Philipp Rehberg from the Lower Saxony Consumer Advice Center, for example. This affects consumers both in the case of real estate and overdraft facilities (Dispo) and consumer loans.
The consumer advocate recommends keeping an eye on expensive overdrafts and only using them in the event of short-term financial bottlenecks. In the long term, normal consumer credit usually makes more sense.
In the case of expiring real estate loans, the question now arises as to how things will continue after the end of the fixed interest rate period. However, nobody can predict with certainty how construction interest rates will develop in the medium and long term, says Rehberg.
Whether a forward loan – i.e. the early commitment to follow-up financing at a fixed interest rate – makes sense must be decided on a case-by-case basis. “The primary goal should always be to secure the financing so as not to jeopardize the preservation of the property,” says the consumer advocate.
The account is overdrawn quickly. Balancing it out often takes much longer.
Some people even make a living out of the minus. But that will be expensive. Banks and savings banks can be well paid for using the so-called overdraft or overdraft facility – with interest.
If the key interest rate rises, these interest rates also rise.
If it is foreseeable that you will not be able to pay off your overdraft facility within a few months, you should speak to the bank and make a so-called repayment agreement.
This replaces the expensive overdraft facility with a cheaper loan – such as an installment loan.
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