This system means that buyers will essentially be paid 0.5% a year to take out a loan and will pay back less than they have been loaned. 

Jyske, which is Denmark’s third-largest bank, started to offer borrowers a ten-year deal at -0.5%, whilst another Danish bank, Nordea, said it will begin offering twenty-year fixed-rate deals at 0% and a 30-year mortgage at 0.5%.

Jyske has explained that borrowers will make a monthly repayment as usual, but the outstanding amount will be reduced each month by more than the borrower has paid.

Jyske’s housing economist, Mikkel Høegh, said: “We don’t give you money directly in your hand, but every month your debt is reduced by more than the amount you pay.”

Naturally, the Bank’s FAQ section on their website is full of questions over how could this system be possible, and statements saying “Yes, you read that right”.

This mortgage system is only possible because of Denmark’s, as well as in Sweden and Switzerland, has seen drops in money markets that are catastrophic for banks.

Høegh said Jyske Bank is able to go into money markets and borrow from institutional investors at a negative rate and is simply passing this on to its customers.

However, the problem with this is that savers will see nothing paid in interest on their deposits and therefore, may also suffer as they go negative.

Realistically, however,  borrowers monopolising this mortgage scheme in Denmark are likely to end up paying back more than they borrowed through fees and charges to compensate the bank for their services.