RBS first to charge depositors for holding cash

The move follows the decision by the governor of the Bank of England on 4 August to cut interest rates from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent.

From Monday, about 70 RBS customers will start to receive negative rates because they will charged for any cash they place as collateral for trading in complex financial products, such as futures or options.

Small business customers, who were warned last month that they bank may have to charge for making deposits, will not be affected – so far.

Negative rates, however, will be applied for customers who trade through RBS on deals guaranteed by clearing houses.

An RBS spokesman said: “Until recently, RBS has applied a 0 per cent floor to the overnight rate charged for deposits required by clearing houses for futures trades.

“However, due to the sustained low interest rate environment, RBS will now be passing the cost of holding such deposits on to a limited number of our institutional clients. Futures are entered into by sophisticated financial investors looking to hedge risk.”

Last Friday the Bank of Ireland announced that it will charge big companies 0.4% to place deposits overnight. Rates are negative in the eurozone.