Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan is finding it is hard to revert to normal monetary policy without risking an unwanted appreciation of the franc. Five years since Jordan jolted markets by introducing negative interest rates, the currency’s strength means there’s little chance he’ll be able to end the controversial policy any time soon.

Only 276 new wind turbines with an output of 940 MW were put into operation in 2019. Compared to the average expansion in the past 5 years, it is a decrease of 77%. The reasons are long approval procedures, insufficiently designated areas and many lawsuits. Many local initiatives against the construction of wind turbines have been formed.

Green bonds are red hot. Issuance smashed through projections in 2019 and will continue expanding this year as sustainability minded investors snap up almost every deal that hits the market. Moody’s had to revise its projection for the year 2019 from $200 billion to $250 billion. The average offering is more than three times oversubscribed.

The Finish EU presidency, the European Commission and the European Parliament on Monday evening all agreed on the common classification system for environmentally-sustainable investment. The final confirmation will be done by EU ambassadors on Wednesday and by a plenary vote that will probably take place in January 2020.

Negative yields are forcing insurers to diversify their investments. They are adding more esoteric fixed-income assets, private assets and real estate. Insurance-owned asset managers have struggled to adapt. They are at risk of losing business to external, independent asset managers with expertise in private debt, private equity and real estate.

Because green bond issues tend to be smaller, they tend to be less liquid. A green bond is (1) a regular bond plus (2) some green promises. Denmark’s proposed innovation is to sell those parts separately, a conventional government bond and a green certificate, which is a zero-coupon bond with zero redemption at maturity and can be traded separately.

After five years of negative rates imposed by the European Central Bank, German lenders are breaking the last taboo: Charging retail clients for their savings starting with very first euro in the their accounts. They are preparing for a prolonged period of negative rates as Europe’s economy slows. In September, the ECB reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5%.

The head of investments at Finland’s Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. says his industry is “just starting to see what kind of new challenges negative rates will cause.” The steps he’s taken so far have led away from easy-to-sell assets, as liquidity becomes a luxury. It’s a way to preserve returns, but means delving into assets that might be hard to offload.

An extended period of negative or record low interest rates has put huge pressure on pension funds in the Netherlands. Assets in pension funds in the Netherlands total $1.5 trillion. These entities count on bonds for stable returns to fund payouts to pensioners. The stricter, more reliable pension systems could be the ones to face complications.

From London to Switzerland to parts of the U.S., the rich are looking to store precious metals, cash and cryptocurrency. For some, it’s the threat of a global recession. Others are avoiding bank deposits as negative interest rates force lenders to charge for holding cash. Many are concerned about natural disasters.

The technology giant said last week it’s exploring how it can partner with banks to offer checking accounts through its Google Pay app. Citigroup Inc. and a California credit union signed on as initial partners for the effort – a move that could help them pick up extra customers as the industry contends with slowing growth in deposits.

A new business field could open for German banks from 2020: the sale and custody of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. The draft law passed by the German parliament will make this easier. Banks will be able to offer to their clients in online banking in addition to classic securities such as shares and bonds also the buying of crypto currencies.