Santander, Bank Norwegian reject new depositors in Denmark amid negative rates

The Danish branches of Banco Santander SA and Bank Norwegian AS, which are among the only banks in Denmark that have not introduced a negative interest rate on retail deposits, are now rejecting new savings customers, Børsen reported Jan. 21.

It comes as most banks in Denmark, including large lenders such as Danske Bank A/S and Nordea Bank Abp, are now charging negative interest on deposits over a certain threshold in an effort to weather the impact of a prolonged negative rate environment, which has put significant pressure on their net interest margins in recent years.

The negative rates have prompted some depositors in Denmark to move their cash elsewhere. Santander Consumer Bank in Denmark, which offered deposit accounts with an interest rate of 0.05%, has decided to completely reject new customers after seeing a significant inflow of deposits, Sune Mejding, head of sales and marketing, told Børsen.

Bank Norwegian also confirmed that it has chosen the same strategy to avoid charging its current customers negative interest.