[jobigoud]

> What makes money for the bank is the difference of interest rate between money they buy and money they sell.

But they do not have to buy the same quantity of money as to what they are selling. When making a loan money is created out of thin air.

[saberdancer]

I know this is often said, but I do not think it is true.

They do not have to hold deposits in the amount they lend out, but they do have to have the money. They have to hold back a fraction of the deposits.

If money was created out of thin air (in consumer banks), any loan with any interest rate (even negative one) would be highly profitable.

I am not talking about central banks.