State Street Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., two of theworld's biggest custody banks, will charge depositors to holdDanish kroner and Swiss francs as customers seek refuge from thecrisis-stricken euro.

State Street will apply a negative interest rate of 0.75 percentannually to krone deposits starting Nov. 1, with a separate chargefor francs, according to a note to clients last week. That meansmoney managers, insurance companies and pension funds must pay thebank to hold their cash. BNY Mellon started charging for kronedeposits last month, a person with knowledge of the matter said.The lender isn't charging for francs.

Denmark and Switzerland have cut interest rates close to orbelow zero to keep the krone and franc from rising as investorsflee the euro for safer havens, reflecting concern that thecurrency may break up. While negative rates may drive off somecustomers, global lenders want to restore the profit margin betweenwhat they pay for deposits and what they earn on investments.