As I understand it, they are doing this to try and force the banks to start lending and investing, instead of hoarding the money. The risky part is, that the banks could pass on the rate to the consumers, but that would surely mean suicide for the banks, because people would most likely withdraw all their savings, leaving the banks with nothing. I'm not totally sure about all this, or the rules of banking, but it's said it's to hit the banks, who have largely been blamed for the current economic crisis, and not the consumers. We'll just have to wait and see. .