Overview
- The European Central Bank raised its policy rate in mid‑June to 2.25 percent, which has pushed market deposit and loan rates higher and prompted renewed competition among banks.
- Several banks now advertise Neukunden Tagesgeld rates close to 4 percent, with Estonia’s Bigbank quoted at 4.05 percent and Chase and Norisbank offering 4.0 percent for limited periods.
- Those high rates are typically time‑limited promotional offers with conditions such as new giro accounts or incoming transfers and they usually revert to substantially lower Bestandskundenzinsen when the promo ends.
- Deposits remain protected up to €100,000 per customer under EU and German rules with a planned seven‑working‑day payout window but consumer groups warn that protections can be strained in a systemic crisis and the state has no legal duty to top up schemes.
- Many Germans keep large sums in low‑yield current accounts—about 13 percent reported more than €10,000—so advisers recommend holding roughly three net months' pay as a buffer and placing truly surplus cash into higher‑yield, insured products or into debt repayment while borrowers pay noticeably higher credit and mortgage rates.