UBS Is Said to Plan a Cut in Interest on Savings Accounts

The savings account is no longer what it was designed to be, if UBS indeed is about to do what online comparison service Moneyland says it will. The company on Tuesday released a statement saying that UBS will cut interest payments on savings accounts from June 1. Adult savers will no longer get any interest on their cash deposits. The bank already applies a rate of 0 percent on current accounts and will now take away interest paid on savings as well.

The cuts will also affect a range of other accounts, including so-called private accounts for adolescents and students and private pension provision accounts (known as 3A in Switzerland). UBS wasn’t yet available for comment.

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Should UBS indeed plan to apply the cuts as Moneyland reported, the move will be highly significant. UBS is Switzerland’s biggest bank and any such change in its interest policy may herald further cuts at other companies. It needs to be said that the average interest paid on savings accounts in Switzerland currently is 0.07 percent and a cut to zero won’t make much change for most people.