> The only way to benefit is to borrow and invest that money, which is exactly what the fed wants (with the expectation that productive investments will boost economic growth).

Isn't this a foolish proposition, considering the out of control speculation that occurred when interest rates dropped to near-zero? With negative rates, banks will only be rewarded further for acting recklessly.

I think the honest thing to do would be to let all of these irrational and highly-leveraged investment environments collapse so that we can have a chance of starting over with a clean slate.