RBC Offers Negative Interest Rates on Danish Krone, Swiss Franc

Royal Bank of Canada is imposing negative interest rates on some customers who hold Danish kroner and Swiss francs, joining U.S. rivals in charging depositors who seek refuge from the crisis-stricken euro.

Royal Bank, Canada’s largest lender, cited recent market conditions for the policy, which reverses the traditional practice of paying customers who deposit funds at a bank. State Street Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., two of the world’s biggest custody banks, have already disclosed plans to offer negative interest rates on those currencies.