So for an institutional investor, a negative yield bond is essentially a hedge against bank failure?
Bonds are easily and instantly transferable privately without causing major market loss.
This is the thing about huge finance like this, there's a gravity to money, and your intuitions from having bank accounts, money, etc, doesn't apply because entirely new problem appear you will never have. What if every time you paid a major bill at your credit union you threatened the solvency of that institution?