ECB Interest Rate Criticized by European Banks Ahead of Meeting

The European Central Bank (ECB) is facing criticism from European banks ahead of its upcoming meeting. The president of Germany's powerful savings banks association, Helmut Schleweis, joined Dutch bank ING in criticizing the ECB's loose monetary policy.

Schleweis stated that people feel there is an ever bigger hole in their future pensions due to low interest rates and high penalty charges on banks that hoard cash. This makes it more expensive for banks to hold customers' savings and less profitable to lend.

The criticism is aimed at the ECB's decision to cut interest rates to buoy the eurozone's economy after the financial crisis. The problem is particularly acute for Germany's biggest banking sub-sector, the savings banks, which have a glut of money that is expensive to hoard.