Big banks raise interest rates on savings. Rabobank is doing this for the second time in a short time. ING announced that it will also raise interest rates in the middle of next month. ABN Amro recently announced that it will raise interest rates in August. The big three banks run about 80 percent of all savings accounts in the Netherlands, but they don’t offer customers the highest interest rates.
From August 15th, most savers at Rabobank will earn 1.5 percent interest on their deposits, where it is currently still 1.25 percent. With this, Rabobank aims to achieve the highest savings interest rate of the three main Dutch banks. Customers who hold their savings for up to a year will actually benefit from the interest rate increase two weeks early. Those who leave their savings untouched for a longer period can get higher rates of interest.
Earlier this month, interest rates at Rabobank also increased from 1 to 1.25 percent. ABN Amro recently announced that it will raise the interest rate in August by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25% for all balances of up to 1 million euros. ING announced that it will also raise interest rates in the middle of next month. All private clients will then receive 1.25 percent interest on their savings balance up to €10,000. On top of that, interest at ING will be 1.15% on credit balances up to and including €1 million.
Market interest rates, that is, the lending rates of banks to each other, for example, have risen sharply recently due to measures taken by central banks to combat high inflation. A spokesperson says the new increase in savings interest at Rabobank is in response to this.
delay
According to the speaker, savings rates always follow market rates with a delay. This is because banks often invest savers’ money in long-term products, such as mortgages, for which interest rates were still very low until about two years ago.
The big three banks run about 80 percent of all savings accounts in the Netherlands, but they don’t offer customers the highest interest rates. Relatively new online bank Bunq is trying to entice customers with an interest rate of 2.46 percent. Other banks also offer much higher interest rates. Openbank, a subsidiary of Spanish Santander, hopes to lure savers with an interest rate of 3 percent in the first six months.
Abroad interest rates are often higher because banks and online savings platforms are looking for savings. After all, they have more money to invest. They can then earn money by this: for example, they put it out for loans and mortgages at higher interest rates. Dutch banks do not have this need, there are already a lot of savings. In March this year, we had 436 billion euros in savings in banks. The amount continues to grow.
Despite the high interest rates, most savers remain loyal to their banks. The common complaint is that Complicated to switch between banks. But it’s not so bad, anyone who wants can open a savings account with another bank.
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