The not-answer answer is fairly simple - negative interest rates are "natural". If I give you a car / boat / house / gold bar to look after you will charge me

The not-answer answer is fairly simple - negative interest rates are "natural". If I give you a car / boat / house / gold bar to look after you will charge me a fee for the effort. Where money is concerned there has been a magic trick - initially banks took your money and paid you a fee (interest rates). However they sneakily make more money from other things - Just offering less interest than you earn (competed away) - Account fees (competition eats those away) - Taking three days to move money (regulators eat those away in EU, in US finally the Fed is killing it off - soon) But overall, giving someone else money costs us money. Positive interest rates it seems are a thing of the past.