FILE PHOTO: CEO Christian Sewing delivers a speech during the annual shareholder meeting of Germany’s largest business bank, Deutsche Bank, in Frankfurt, Germany, May 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's DBKGN.DE chief executive on Thursday told German broadcaster n-tv that he did not think Germany's top bank would apply negative interest rates to the accounts of private customers in general.

European Central Bank rates have been negative for years.

Asked whether Deutsche would have to those pass negative rates on to customers, Christian Sewing said: “I think in the broad private customer business, it’s not an option in my opinion.”