Energy turnaround, turnaround, now the turnaround in interest rates. No sooner has the ECB, under its boss Christine Lagarde, deigned to raise interest rates (and by a whopping 0.5 percent at that), when the credit institutions are already courting investors’ funds.

The pioneer is ING Diba, which is already characterized by clever advertising. Negative interest will be abolished up to an amount of 500,000 euros. In addition, a savings bond will be offered from August 1, 2022, with the following interest rates:

1 year: 0.5 percent per year 2 years: 0.8 percent per year 3 years: 1.0 percent per year 4 years: 1.2 percent per year 5 years: 1.5 percent per year

After years of zero and negative interest rates, investors are craving credit interest. So close quickly? One moment please.

The offer looks attractive at first glance. But there are two points that should make you think.

Conclusion: Anyone who decides on this offer should assume that interest rates will fall again in the near future. Then it makes sense to commit yourself for five years now. Since this is rather unlikely in the current situation, my advice is: Park money that needs to be available at short notice in overnight or fixed-term deposit accounts with terms of up to three months. But not for years.

In the coming days and weeks, many banks and savings banks will boast that they no longer take custody fees. Take these announcements for what they are: a corollary to the ECB’s decision. No more, no less. You don’t need to pat the bank advisor on the back for this.

Neither does Ms. Lagarde. The ECB has done nothing for too long, inflation is clearly too high. We have to go through this. And if the ECB is now seriously trying to get inflation under control, then it will have to raise interest rates further. That has already been announced for September. And it also entails rising credit interest rates.

This development continues until the economy is stalled by high interest rates. We are heading towards stagflation (stagnant economy with high inflation) or recession. But for savers it is still: wait and see and only commit to a short-term commitment.

And what do the people who need a loan do – either for an installment loan (new car, trip, television) or a property? Quite simply: if interest rates continue to rise, it will become more expensive to raise money. So hurry would be required.

In the case of installment loans, it can be assumed that these will increase significantly as a result of the ECB decision. Hence the recommendation to take out the loan promptly. Incidentally, this does not only have to be for a consumer spending: Even those who permanently exhaust the overdraft facility should think about an installment loan. The interest rates are significantly lower than the overdraft facility, debt restructuring is the magic word.

The FOCUS Online guide answers all important questions about pensions on 135 pages. Plus 65 pages of forms.

Loans for real estate have already become massively expensive this year, and it is not uncommon for interest rates to double or triple. This makes real estate unaffordable for many – because they can no longer pay the interest and the ancillary costs are also skyrocketing. Anyone who can still afford to connect a property should not hesitate – if the price is right. Because it can be assumed that interest rates will at least not fall massively in the near future.