Latvian bank starts charging for Lithuanian deposits

The bank said the new charges would come into force on 1 April.

“Please be advised that due to the increase in maintenance costs of correspondent balances in Swiss francs (CHF), customer account balances in excess of 50,000 CHF will be subject to the risk of negative interest rates: -1.5%” said the AS Meridian Trade Bank Lithuanian branch in a statement.

The Civil Code of Lithuania prohibits the application of negative interest rates to individuals but this does not apply to legal entities, according to Stasys Kropas, the head of the Association of Lithuanian Banks.

“The situation here is remarkable. The Civil Code does not provide for the possibility of banks charging money for deposits,” said Kropas.

Lrytas.lt