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Canada could be among a handful of countries to adopt negative interest rates in the next two years as the European policy experiment gains popularity, says a new report from Citigroup.

The Bank of Japan earlier this year became the fifth central bank to go negative, which means it charges financial institutions to deposit money with it. The idea behind negative rates is that they make it expensive to hold cash, forcing businesses, consumers and banks to start spending.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada could adopt negative interest rates within the next two years, Citi says Back to video

Citi economists, led by Ebrahim Rahbari, say in the report that Israel is likely to be the next bank to join the negative rate club this year, but Canada, along with a few others, could also introduce such a policy in the next two years.

“In the Czech Republic, Norway and perhaps Canada, a negative policy rate is not part of our central scenario, but the risk of a negative policy rate is material,” write Rahbari and his team in their report.