Germans are avoiding banks by buying home safes to hoard their cash

Germans are following the lead of the Japanese in this global war on cash and this global trend to subzero interest rates (SEE: Are subzero interest rates igniting cash hoarding?)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that home-safe sales have been skyrocketing in Germany. No, crime rates aren’t surging in Berlin, Stuttgart or Dusseldorf. Instead, Germans are looking for ways to stash their cash at home to avoid putting their money in banks that offer very low interest rates.

In an effort to get banks to lend out money and avoid letting reserves just sit there, central banks are utilizing the power of subzero interest rates. With the European Central Bank (ECB) pushing rates into negative territory, Germans have become wary of these monetary policies. And this could be part of the reason why Europe is installing more and more cash restrictions.

And the latest trend in Germany isn’t necessarily a consequence of bad monetary policy. In actuality, Germans understand history, and many of them have experienced it first hand.

Here is what the newspaper writes:

“Germany’s love of cash is driven largely by its anonymity. One legacy of the Nazis and East Germany’s Stasi secret police is a fear of government snooping, and many Germans are spooked by proposals of banning cash transactions that exceed €5,000. Many Germans think the ECB’s plan to phase out the €500 bill is only the beginning of getting rid of cash altogether.”

Whether it’s safes or placing it under the mattress, a growing number of Europeans are taking their hard-earned cash out of the banks and hoarding it at home (SEE: Did the Bank of England slash rates, revive QE because Brits are hoarding a lot of cash?).

This trend can even be found in the United States and Canada, though not at the rate of Europe. Ostensibly, the central bankers’ grand plans are backfiring.