Germany Enters Recession as Over 100 Banks Charge Negative Interest Rates

Germany has plunged into a recession with the worst quarterly contraction since the global financial and economic crisis of 2008, according to official data. Over 100 banks in the country are now charging customers negative interest rates.

Germany Enters Recession

The German economy is now in a recession according to data released Friday by the country’s Federal Statistical Office, Statistisches Bundesamt. The authority announced:

The corona pandemic hits the German economy hard … [Q1’s contraction] was the largest decrease since the global financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009 and the second-largest decrease since German unification.

“A larger quarter-on-quarter decline was recorded only for the 1st quarter of 2009 (-4.7%),” Statistisches Bundesamt confirmed. The Federal Statistical Office reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Europe’s biggest economy shrank 2.2% in the first three months of the year. The eurozone economy fell by its sharpest rate on…