Something that is often overlooked in this respect, however, is that the real rate of interest, ie adjusted for inflation, on savings deposits is not really all that low by historical standards. The real interest rate on savings deposits in Germany is currently somewhere around 0.25%, on a par with its average over the past ten years.
And there were repeated spells of negative real interest rates in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. 3. The future of monetary union  Ladies and gentlemen It’s not the job of monetary policymakers to serve the interests of one group or another. The primary task of monetary policy is to ensure price stability.