Tag: banks

30 Dec. – part 2: the new rules for 2020

more new laws for 2020
pic:domstol.se

As promised, a review of the new laws and regulations for 2020, part 2:

  • Banks must maintain ATMs throughout the country. The major banks are now required to keep a minimum service level, including cash services, within certain distances from populated areas. For more, see this post that explained it already last June.
  • A reduced tax on gas and diesel. Everytime you fill ‘er up you pay a tax for the energy you use, and the CO2 you produce, while driving. This tax is going to be reduced, to make up for the increased cost for gas and diesel you’ll pay because distributors need to meet the requirements for the “duty of reduction” (reduktionsplikten). This is a requirement that requires that they mix in more biogas, which is more expensive, which they will pass on to drivers, so in turn, the government is reducing some of the tax you pay at the gas station.
  • The punishment for murder is increased. A life sentence may now be the penalty if a murder was carefully planned (föregåtts av noggrann planering), was particularly shrewd or clever (förslagen), was part of another crime, resulted in particular suffering (svårt lidande) or was in some other way particularly ruthless or unscrupulous (hänsynslös).
  • The minimum penalty for buying sexual favours from children is increased from fines to time in jail. The maximum sentence is 4 years.
  • Interfering with the work of first responders (blåljuspersonal, or blue-light personnel) is now punishable with time in jail. Sabotage mot blåljusverksamhet can give up to a life sentence. Also threatening or attacking a civil servant (tjänsteman) can land you in jail for anywhere from one to six years.

In other news, the previous name of the different administrative sections of Sweden was “landsting” but from now on and everywhere it is officially “region.” For example, landstingsfullmäktige (the body of representatives at the landsting level – those who have fullmakt (in this case, a mandate) – will now be regionfullmäktige. A region is bigger than a municipality, but smaller than the country. Stockholm is a region (used to be landsting) and Jönköping is a region, but also all of Värmland is a region.

source: Omni.se

Mon. 12/8 – how low can you go?

pic: sleepadvisor.org

Would you pay to keep money in a bank? Would you contribute to your bank’s “stability” by paying them to hold your hard-earned kronor? So far, banks have passed on passing on negative interest rates to customers’ regular savings accounts, but rumours have begun to circulate that having to pay a bank to hold on to your savings isn’t as foreign a concept as once thought.

The article on Bloomberg’s website spells it out clearly “Depositors are next as Nordic Banks Buckle Under Negative Rates“. The question is, do the banks dare to make people pay to have an account? Who will be the first to try it, and risk the ire of their customers? Will customers actually accept it?

The Swedish central bank’s Stefan Ingves has stubbornly held on to his idea of negative interest rates, even when even his inner circle is divided on the issue. Previously, it was held that it was good for Sweden’s exports, as the weak krona (due, in many ways, to the negative interest rate) makes Swedish products seem inexpensive. But even business owners have begun to complain, finding that their product is almost working under false pretences, and that it is harder to price against the market. At first, it seemed great, but now, after some time has passed, not so much.

Banks have made money with the negative rates by relying on asset management and other fee-generating products, Bloomberg reports. But that stream might not now be strong enough. The director of the Danish Bankers’ Association is quoted as saying “banks are selling their products below cost price” – something that can’t be kept up. So far, though, only Credit Suisse has said it will impose a cost on its customers – those that have over a million Euro in deposits.

So far so good, for most people, obviously. But only just as long as it stays at that level. As we now appear to be heading into a sort of economic slowdown, and things may get tight, this is not as sure as the expression “like money in the bank” once implied.

Update August 20 – DN.se reports that that Danish bank Jyske is now implementing a negative interest rate for its customers that have over 7.5 million kronor (about 10 million Swedish kronor, or about a million bucks) in the bank (). A customer that has 8 million kronor will pay about 48 thousand kronor to keep their money there.