That is remarkable. There have certainly been other periods when real bond yields were negative, but such widespread negative nominal yields is unprecedented. Graph 2  It is not just governments that can borrow at negative yields. Over recent times, private companies including Coca-Cola, Orange and Siemens have issued unsecured bonds with zero coupons and negative yields.
It has also become common for European banks to issue covered bonds with negative yields. And in Denmark, at least one bank has offered residential mortgages at a negative rate of interest: −0.5 per cent, although after fees the effective interest rate is just in positive territory.