Hellenic Bank to terminate negative interest rates on non-household deposits

Hellenic Bank will terminate negative interest rates on non-household Euro accounts, it said in an announcement on Tuesday.

The decision will take effect from October 3. From this date onwards the interest rate on the non-household current, savings and notice accounts will be set at zero.

“The decision was taken in view of the changing market conditions and the recent European Central Bank (“ECB”) decision to raise the key ECB interest rates, ensuring the timely return of inflation to the ECB’s 2% medium-term target,” the bank said.

The ECB raised its deposit rate from zero to 0.75% on Thursday and President Christine Lagarde guided for another two or three hikes, saying rates were still far away from a level that will bring inflation back to 2%.

With inflation hitting 9.1% in August and seen above the ECB’s 2% target for two years to come, the central bank has been raising its interest rates at record speed and urging governments to help bring down energy bills that have ballooned since Russia invaded Ukraine.