In an interview with Sputnik Germany, former head of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) Hans-Olaf Henkel said that this "could lead to terrible consequences."

Henkel believes that one of the main reasons behind this proposal is the desire of financial institutions to force people to keep their money in banks.

"The European Central Bank (ECB) does not want that depositors to keep their money under the pillow. If any bank in Europe goes bankrupt, then depositors have a guaranteed right that the state will return them the amount of up to 100,000 euros. But not more," the economist told Sputnik Germany.

So, if a bank goes bankrupt, people who have savings of over 100,000 euros will remain with nothing. Thus, many keep their cash not in banks, Henkel argued.