Item — HN Reader

This comment is not towards you but there's always an excuse with the big German banks.

For example, during Covid when interest rates where negative - some major German banks like Commerzbank charged interest from customers when their balance exceeded an amount like 50000€. Now that the interest rates have gone up - they are not even close to passing on those high interest rates. The same Commerzbank now asks for 50000€ in assets otherwise they charge a 4.90€ subscription charge from their customers.

So yeah there might be technicalities but nothing stops those technicalities being addressed until the law does.

2 comments

As a reluctant Commerzbank customer, there's some inaccuracies. The amount was 100k€ re: negative interest, and the subscription charge only applies if you're not moving a certain amount of money each month (which is very low, even unemployment payments would be enough to clear that hurdle).

So you're only paying for your second or third account.

> the subscription charge only applies if you're not moving a certain amount of money

This has changed since May 2025. Talk about inaccuracies ;)

Btw, as much as I appreciate the “correction” it doesn’t change overall direction of the comment.

> This has changed since May 2025. Talk about inaccuracies ;)

It has? I've never paid a subscription charge, and I've never been above that amount.

To be clear: I didn't mean they have to drag their feet. They just do it because they will lose some income.