HSBC has written to other banks to warn it will start charging them for deposits in euros, Swiss francs, Danish krone and Swedish krona — all currencies of countries that have negative interest rates — at its UK, German and Hong Kong operations from this summer.

It is the first UK bank to announce such charges following similar announcements from Swiss, German and Nordic institutions.

"HSBC charges banks for deposits they hold with us in currencies where negative interest rates apply," the UK-based lender said in a statement on Tuesday. "Banks affected have been notified and we continue to monitor the situation."

The unusual steps come after the European Central Bank became the first big central bank to announce a negative deposit rate — in effect a penalty on banks parking their surplus cash — last year.