The European Central Bank’s decision to impose negative interest rates on bank deposits last week has sent investors scurrying for higher-yielding assets, with issuers now lining up to take advantage.
The ECB last Thursday installed a negative charge on bank deposits, effectively charging commercial banks for parking their deposits at the ECB. The bank also reduced its main refinancing rate to a fresh low of 0.15%, down from a rate of 0.25% it had held since November last year.