“Savers Warned of Losing Loyalty to Banks Without Fair Savings Account Payments”

The government has asked the National Bank for advice on a mandatory increase in savings interest. While the interest that the banks themselves receive from the European Central Bank has risen, this is only slightly reflected in the interest on savings books.

That advice from the National Bank is not yet ready, says Vanackere. The bank hopes to have it completed by the end of this week. The vice-governor did not want to talk about the content. He did say, however, that savers “must have the feeling that they are getting a fair deal.” If not, those savers might look for their returns elsewhere, he warned. “Customers who run away to price breakers or crypto coins for goodness sake is not good for the sector either.”

This loyal savings public is a major asset for the banks. Let’s not lose that asset. The rhythm of raising savings interest takes time, okay, but not too much time either,’ says Vanackere.

At the same time, Vanackere – who is responsible for the stability of the financial sector at the national bank – pointed out the difficult situation that banks find themselves in, where they themselves had to pay negative interest at the ECB and had to offer a minimum interest rate on savings deposits. At the same time, the Belgian banking sector is very heterogeneous, making a ‘one size fits all’ advice impossible. “We also have to take that into account. Life is complicated. It will be a report of several pages to the government.’