by shifting the game's clock forward to May 2021 before and after the update. While the pre-adjustment trick yielded a 63,571-bell payment for Gach's 1.1 million-bell fortune, the same gimmick only earned 6,579 bells after the bank's rate cut.
It's unclear why the rate was adjusted, and it won't have the same monetary effect as similar real-world policies. Loans in "Animal Crossing" are interest-free, rendering the rate cut fruitless for driving lending activity. It's more likely Nintendo sought to boost spending among players instead of allowing them to passively grow their wealth in the game's bank.
Nintendo might have also wanted to deter players from using a so-called "time travel" exploit. Interest payments are made each month, and players could shift their device clocks forward to quickly reap cash. The latest update now caps the earnings one could make from the exploit and drastically lowers the amount made with each month skipped.
The Thursday update brings the Bank of Nook's interest rate more in line with the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and Bank of England's policy stances.
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