Bank of Japan shocks markets by adopting negative interest rates

[GummyBearz]

11. There is more to penalize

You are right in pointing out banks pay depositors a lower rate than they borrow their money at from the central bank. So if the central bank goes to -0.1%, then commercial banks may go to -0.2% interest, effectively charging you money to keep your money with them. That scenario is what I was referring to when I said I would take my money out asap. And if other people think the same, well, the banks don't have enough cash money in their vaults to return it to every single depositor, which creates the run, panic, and nightmare scenario.