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Court Ruling: Savings account balances cannot be reduced by fees

During the low interest rate phase between 2016 and 2022, banks charged their customers custody fees for deposits in daily money, (Tagesgeldkonto) and savings accounts (Sparkonto).

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has declared the so-called negative interest rates are invalid, The savings and daily money accounts may not be reduced by fees as it contradicts with the purpose of these accounts, i.e., saving money.

Can you get back the already paid fees?

Yes, you can ask your bank to return the fees they charged you in the past years back. Check your bank statements from the past few years for any fee deductions and request them back.

How will the tariffs war affect you?

First of all, the cost of imported products will rise if Europe (Germany) imposes tariffs in retaliation to Trump's tariffs. This will put strains on the supply and thus increasing the price pressure.

Ultimately, leading to increased prices or inflation. European central banks may react to control the inflation and may increase the borrowing rates. This will make getting loan for companies and individuals expensive. Ultimately, everything will be expensive and your purchasing power will reduce.

Other way to see it...

The world governments are in trillion of dollars of debt. They don't have the income to reduce this debt. So, their strategy is to devalue money.

The faster the money devalues, the better. It has happened in the past and is happening now. So, if you have large cash, put it to use or it ain't gonna worth much in the next ten to twenty years.

What can you do with your cash?

• Invest in property. You don't have to buy a million euro property. You can start with a property in the range of 100k to 150k. You can find many one room apartments in this range in mid tier cities. Don't know how to buy a property in Germany? Read our book.
• Invest in ETFs. Open a free trading account (Scalable Capital*, Finanzen.net Zero*) and start a ETF savings plan. You enjoy two benefits by investing in stock based ETFs that track broad market indices (like MSCI World):
  • 30% of the profits from stock based ETFs are tax free in Germany.
  • Your investment is diversified and not connected to one company or country.
• Open a savings account. The least you can do is open a daily money* or fixed savings account* to earn some interest. Your money will still lose value in these accounts. But not as fast as if you earn zero interest.

Stricter immigration policy passed in Bundestag

CDU leader Friedrich Merz proposed a five-point plan to execute stricter immigration policies. Here are the five points proposed by him and are passed in the Bundestag.

• Germany will introduce permanent border controls with all neighbouring countries.
• Ban on entery into Germany without a valid travel document. It doesn't matter if you are an asylum seeker.
• Detaining people “who are obliged to leave the country” and awaiting deportation. Deportations should “take place every day”, including to Afghanistan and Syria.
• The federal government should support federal states in enforcing deportations.
• Individuals with a criminal record or considered “dangerous” and are required to leave Germany should remain in a detention centre indefinitely until they voluntarily leave Germany or they can be deported.

The proposal has passed Bundestag. However, it doesn't mean it's a law. German government has to assess the proposal and check what suggestions should or can be implemented.

Passing of the above proposal was possible because AfD voted in favor of it. This has stirred the notion that the "Brandmauer" has fallen. Brandmauer was a long-standing agreement between German democratic parties that they won't cooperate with extremist parties.

Community Shoutouts!

• The CDU is polling at 30% and its leader Friedrich Merz is likely to become the next chancellor.
• Here are the polling status of other parties: AfD (21%), SPD (15%), and Greens (13%).
• Launched one more way to prepare for the German citizenship test - Mock Tests. This will allow you to take unlimited time-based exams when preparing for the German naturalization test. Check it out here. 🥳

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