Vincent Van Peteghem

The banks made billions in profits last year. But getting some of that back to savers was more difficult. Since the federal government was very frustrated that the interest on savings accounts barely increased, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) launched a government bond with tax benefits. At least 22 billion euros came from savings accounts to that government bond.

Although some banks raised their interest rates slightly in response, the impact was still not limited in general. Frustration about this is growing in Wetstraat. Almost all political parties want to force banks to raise their savings interest rates in the future. This is evident from the answers they gave in De Stemtest van The standard rate in cooperation with VRT NWS.

This situation should not come as a surprise among leftist parties. Vooruit has already put several proposals on the federal government’s agenda to force the banks to take action. “Those who work hard and save should get something decent in return. The minimum savings interest rate must be increased, if required by law,” the party writes. The PVDA is on the same page. The Greens argue for a limited obligation: a minimum interest on the first 10,000 euros per person.

It is surprising that the centrist parties CD&V and the N-VA also want to force the banks to raise interest rates. “We want to force the banks to pay higher interest rates and ensure that they do not make illegal agreements,” said CD&V. Although the party does not want to achieve this through “legal provision of the lowest interest rate” , because according to it, this “has a negative impact on the stability of the banking system”.

Don’t play banker yourself

The N-VA is on that line as well. “The substandard competition between Belgian banks is putting savers at a disadvantage,” she writes. She wants the interest on savings accounts to be “well in line with deposit rate of the European Central Bank”.

Vlaams Belang is in favor of a “minimum interest rate” required by law, just like the parties on the left.

The Polling Test shows that there is only one party that does not want intervention at all regarding savings interest rates. “The past teaches us that governments should not start playing banker themselves,” wrote the liberals at Open VLD. The Flemish liberals were also not in favor of a government voucher with tax benefits. “We have to ensure that there is enough competition between banks, so that savers have enough choice to choose the best savings account.”