2023-06-11 12:33:48
The equation has been agitating the political world for several weeks: interest rates on savings accounts offered on the market are generally less than 1%, while banks can place their customers’ savings with the Central Bank. European Union (ECB) at a rate of 3.25%. At the same time, the rates charged by banks for mortgage loans are around 4 to 5%.
In-depth review
The political world has given voice in recent days. “Our Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Minister of the Economy, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, has asked the Belgian Competition Authority to carry out an in-depth examination of the services offered by the banking sector with a view to proposing the best at competitive prices, particularly with regard to the interest rates on savings accounts,” recalls Hugues Bayet, who does not remain inactive either, pulling out of his wallet as a socialist federal deputy, 3 bills.
popular account
One of them is a popular savings account. “Banks can’t have it all with both punitive mortgage rates and ridiculous interest rates on savings,” he says. “Our priority: to encourage popular savings. Measures that primarily benefit “small savers” and not those who have hundreds of thousands of euros in the savings account. »
All banks should therefore offer a popular savings account (imposed) whose rate would be inspired by that offered by the ECB to banks (which could not go below 1.5% in any case even if it were the case of the ECB rate) and would guarantee this rate up to €22,000.
“This amount is modeled on the authorized ceiling of the Livret A in France”, resumes Hugues Bayet. “The goal is to stimulate small short-term savings. This new savings account would complement government bonds, which provide a secure, long-term investment opportunity. A withholding tax of 15% would be deducted from annual income. »
Another bill (co-signed with Melissa Depraetere from Vooruit) wants to cap the difference between the deposit rate with the ECB and the minimum interest rate on savings accounts at 2%. A bit like the text that Ecolo/Groen filed ten days ago.
Taxing excess profits
The PS is preparing to file a third text which will propose a banking solidarity tax on the margins (surpluses) of banks in the context of mortgage loans. “They must not forget that we saved them during the 2008 financial crisis and that they have a societal role to play, especially vis-à-vis citizens who have gone through several crises. If they used this money to feed a guarantee fund helping young people to get started, they would play this societal role. »
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