This Is Money Show

The threat of negative interest rates is looming large for savers. This week, a government bond auction saw UK gilts sold at a negative rate for the first time, while Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey refused to rule out the base rate flipping below zero. But could you end up with a negative rate on your savings account? On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost look at the weird world of negative rates – an upside down where investors effectively pay to lend the government money, banks are charged interest for depositing funds with the Bank of England, and you’d end up being stung rather than rewarded for saving. Not that there’s much reward for saving in many places right now: a This is Money investigation this week revealed that 235 savings accounts now pay 0.01 per cent interest.  That is 10p per year on £1,000 saved and some may prefer not to be insulted in that way and have their bank or building society join the six accounts where absolutely zero is paid. The