Chart 7 Share of deposits carrying a negative rate (percentages)  Sources: ECB and ECB calculations. Notes: Deposit rates on outstanding amounts as reported by individual banks for each of the available product categories, weighted by outstanding amounts. Household deposits also account for deposits held by non-profit institutions serving households. The latest observation is for December 2019.
While the obvious answer is that banks refuse to grant loans in the wake of the financial crisis, this is but one side of the coin.