|
Switzerland has the highest density of millionaires in the West,
with nearly 10 percent of all households having $1 million or
more. A study by consultancy Capgemini this year estimated that
there were 358,400 people in Switzerland with a net worth of
more than $1 million.
Almost all Swiss banks have refrained so far from imposing
negative rates on ordinary retail customers, although some do
for very large cash holdings by wealthy private clients.
But PostFinance, the banking arm of the Swiss Post Office, will
from the start of February levy a 1 percent annual fee on
deposits of above 1 million francs, it said on its website.
"The assets in all private and savings accounts will be taken
into account. Most private and business customers will remain
exempt from the fee on the credit balance," it said as part of a
range of fee hikes and rate cuts.
"I appreciate that these measures will not be very popular
amongst our customers. Nobody likes paying fees," Chief
Executive Hansruedi Koeng said, reminding clients it had paid
attractive interest rates and fees for years.
"We too are pained by the fact that this is no longer possible
to the same extent due to negative interest rates, the lending
prohibition and the costs incurred by stricter regulatory
requirements," he added.
Unlike most rivals, PostFinance cannot by law make mortgage
loans, which restricts its ability to offset the 0.75 percent
rate the SNB charges banks for excess deposits and which has
cost PostFinance more than 10 million francs this year.
But even UBS, the world's biggest wealth manager, said in
September it could pass on negative interest rates to more
depositors if Switzerland's central bank persists with sub-zero
rates.
The SNB has since January 2015 used negative rates and market
interventions to tame the Swiss franc's exchange rate, whose
strength hamstrings the export-led economy.
The policy has come under fire from banks and pension funds, but
has been defended by the SNB as necessary.
"The SNB takes these concerns very seriously," SNB Chairman
Thomas Jordan said last month, but noted "generous" exemptions
from negative rates on banks' deposits at the SNB let them
decide whether and how much to pass on negative rates to
clients.
($1 = 0.9872 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Oliver Hirt, Greg
Mahlich)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
