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German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
111–120 of 327 posts
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
> ... when the German Saver is who would benefit if they decided tomorrow to run deficits for the next 10 years. The German Saver knows better than most that inflation destroys savings. Inflation benefits debtors by allowing them to pay back their loans in depreciated currency. Germany isn't exactly a nation of debtors, although most of Europe is. This is a looming political issue that's only just beginning.
What good is the EU if its wealthier members are unwilling to subsidize the poorer ones? Germans want the benefits of federation without the drawbacks.
EU isn't really subisidizing anyone - the actual flow of money is from poor towards the wealthy:
https://www.politico.eu/article/what-rich-countries-get-wron...
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Indeed it was. Even now the 200 Euro note is the best for laundering and transportation since it's the highest value bill in common circulation (per Fed employee)
The really big criminals and tax evaders will ever find a way around this kind of restriction. This is useful to control the smaller fish. But, also, the cynic in me thinks that the big sharks have lots of friends in high places and politics and public administration and that those restrictions were never intended to catch them on the first place.
I doubt most of these laws are ever intended to catch the big fish -- like in business, the big guys always require special handling to process. For criminals, the big guys should already be so far disassociated with the actual activity that you're not going to catch them with normal crimes. For example, Al Capone was famously trialed on tax evasion, rather than any of the innumerable crimes he committed but couldn't be processed for.
The actual law simply isn't that notable in these cases, because the big guys have enough money to figure out how to navigate it liability-free.
Which is also why the law only really applies to the poor -- with enough time and resources, there's always a workaround.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
In many countries in Europe you can't use cash for large sums. We generally use bank transfers to buy cars.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you need to go to a physical bank location to do this? How do you buy a car in the evening or a Saturday afternoon, when a bank is closed?
You can do it from your phone.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you need to go to a physical bank location to do this? How do you buy a car in the evening or a Saturday afternoon, when a bank is closed?
In the UK online bank transfers work 24/7 and clear in seconds (all banks are required by law to have APIs for fast inter-bank transfers).
They're not legally required to be instant, but they usually are. The "ambition" set out legally was half a day, if your transaction is initiated in the morning it should clear that afternoon. It's just that in practice instantly is the realisation of this ambition when things work. And I don't think there's any API requirement, the regulation just explains the consumer experience, that you can transfer relatively small amounts of money (enough for a nice car, not enough for most houses) fast ("Faster Payments" is the name given to this feature), and doesn't dictate how.
For large transactions transfer for a fee already existed. CHAPS will move much larger sums of money (it's typically used to buy property so certainly millions but perhaps more) for a modest fee. You wouldn't want that fee on your weekly groceries, but when you just bought a house who cares?
Last I looked the backend for Faster Payments wasn't actually built. The big banks decided instead "temporarily" to just trust each other. If Bank A says Cathy sent Mike £5000 then Bank B where Mike's account is will credit Mike £5000 (probably instantly), presumably Bank A will reduce Cathy's account by £5000 and the two banks agree they'll settle things at the end of the day. This is only scary if Bank A might not actually have that £5000 to give Bank B at the end of the day when it's settled, which in principle should never happen under current financial regulations.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. But it is nice to have large bills when buying something that costs a lot, like a used car. I recently did that in the US and if I had some $500 or $1000 bill things would have went a bit smoother at that nervous time in the transaction when you are handing over to a person a big chunk of money.
You tend to run into the problem that forging large notes has a much greater return on investment. People get nervous about accepting them. In the UK this definitely kicks in around the £50 mark.
The most forged notes are the smaller ones because everyone checks the large notes. You can just hand people a photocopy of a €20 euro bill with a hologram sticker and if it’s in a dark bar you’ll probably get to keep the change.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. But it is nice to have large bills when buying something that costs a lot, like a used car. I recently did that in the US and if I had some $500 or $1000 bill things would have went a bit smoother at that nervous time in the transaction when you are handing over to a person a big chunk of money.
In many countries in Europe you can't use cash for large sums. We generally use bank transfers to buy cars.
>We generally use bank transfers to buy cars.
It's actually the only possible way to buy a new car.
If you don't believe me, go try and buy a car with a credit card in the EU, see what happens.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
In many countries in Europe you can't use cash for large sums. We generally use bank transfers to buy cars.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you need to go to a physical bank location to do this? How do you buy a car in the evening or a Saturday afternoon, when a bank is closed?
Buying a car in Europe is a complicated affair, and certainly not something that can be concluded in an afternoon.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you need to go to a physical bank location to do this? How do you buy a car in the evening or a Saturday afternoon, when a bank is closed?
In the UK, and probably most places in Europe, with a debit card.
> and probably most places in Europe
Incorrect. I tried to buy a new car in France with a credit card. That was an extremely awkward moment. I was kindly told that this was a very weird thing to ask.
Re: German banks are hoarding so many euros they need more vaults
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
In many countries in Europe you can't use cash for large sums. We generally use bank transfers to buy cars.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you need to go to a physical bank location to do this? How do you buy a car in the evening or a Saturday afternoon, when a bank is closed?
Not necessarily, but safer to do so. I recently bought a used car from a private party, and we went to a lobby of a bank to close the final transaction. I got a cashier's check from the bank, signed it over to the seller, and exchanged the keys/title for the car.
This way, neither the buyer nor the seller needs to carry large amounts of cash with them. The cashier's check is not given unless the buyer's account has enough funds to cover it, so the seller doesn't need to worry about a bounced check.