Category Archive: Savings/FD

Jan
06
2012

Fraudulent Withdrawals from DBS Accounts

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by Martin Lee

January 6, 2012

More than $200,000 were illegally withdrawn from some DBS customers this year from ATMs located in Malaysia.

Apparently, someone has managed to clone the ATM card details (including the passwords) and made the withdrawals from Malaysia using the cloned cards.

Currently, there are about 200 customers affected with an average withdrawal of $1000 per account.

DBS is currently investigating the situation and have reassured the public that any monies that were lost will be rightfully refunded within 24 hrs after notification.

You might want to check your DBS/POSB bank balance to see whether you are one of the affected customers. This might be a challenge though as the internet banking service of DBS has been down since last night due to the over-whelming traffic.

And in typical Singapore style, some kaisu Singaporeans have started to withdraw money from their DBS/POSB accounts. Not so much they are afraid of DBS collapsing, but more of concerned that their account might be targeted by the Malaysia withdrawal scam.

There is even an online discussion about a possible bank run on DBS.

I am quite sure the mass withdrawals will not be enough to cause a bank run, but a large outflow of funds can become irritating to DBS.

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Sep
13
2011

Esaver Topup Bonus Promotion

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by Martin Lee

September 13, 2011

I received a mailer from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) on a promotion of higher interest rates for incremental topups into my E$saver Account.

Deposit balance less than $50,000

Current rate 0.10% p.a.
Bonus rate 0.408% p.a.
Total interest on topup 0.508% p.a.

Deposit balance $50,000 to $200,000

Current rate 0.20% p.a.
Bonus rate 0.508% p.a.
Total interest on topup 0.708% p.a.

Deposit balance more than $200,000.

Current rate 0.30% p.a.
Bonus rate 0.608% p.a.
Total interest on topup 0.908% p.a.

The bonus rates are applicable up to 31 December 2011.

Looks like quite a decent deal given that the funds do not need to be locked in unlike a fixed deposit.

I am however not sure why Standard Chartered Banks wants to offer a higher interest rate to attract more funds. After all, interest rates are at all time low and SCB had even cut all their fixed deposit and saving accounts interest rate from 1 September 2011 in line with falling interest rates elsewhere. The rate for the E$aver account was actually cut from 0.15%, 0.25% and 0.35% to 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.

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May
09
2011

Closure of finatiQ

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by Martin Lee

May 9, 2011

FinatiQ was set up by OCBC Bank in 2000 as Singapore’s first online-only bank account. Back then, it offered superior interest rates compared to normal savings account. I remembered enjoying rates of about 3% on my funds in the account.

You could also buy unit trusts online via the platform although somehow, this aspect didn’t take off in a big way.

With internet banking becoming a mainstay of pretty much every bank these days, OCBC has decided to shut down finatiQ on 30 June 2011.

Affected customers will be given the following options:

For Deposit Accounts

1. Transfer deposit balance to a same-name (first-party) OCBC Bank account; or

2. Open an OCBC Bank Statement Savings account and transfer deposit balance to that same-name (first-party) account; or

3. Receive deposit balance as a cashiers order.

For Unit Trust holdings

1. Transfer all holdings to OCBC Bank; or

2. Transfer all holdings to Fundsupermart.com; or

3. Redeem all holdings; or

4. Transfer holdings to another distributor. Customers will need to approach the distributor of their choice for a transfer form. The distributor will send us the form for processing, after which customers will receive a letter from finatiQ confirming the transfer. This process will take approximately four to six weeks.

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Feb
14
2011

DBS Launches Yuan Products

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by Martin Lee

February 14, 2011

Following in the footsteps of HSBC, DBS has launched a series of Renminbi products to cater for the demand for the Chinese currency.

These include fixed deposits and currency-linked investments.

Interestingly, DBS has emphasised on the risks of investing in their Yuan product.

The offshore yuan (CNH) is actually less liquid compared to the onshore Renminib (CNY) and investors could be investing at very wide spreads.

If you are considering investing in a Yuan product (or any other foreign currency fixed deposit for that matter), always compare the spread and not only the interest rates that the bank is offering you.

With CNH spreads going up to as wide as 8%, you will need to be a long term investor to reap the benefits of Yuan appreciation.

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Jan
11
2011

HSBC Renminbi Fixed Deposit

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by Martin Lee

January 11, 2011

HSBS has started offering fixed deposits in Renminbi available to retail customers.

For a one year term, the interest rates ranges from 0.28% (<350,000 CNY) to 1.28% (>5 mil CNY) depending on the amount.

You can check the latest rate at the HSBC foreign currency fixed deposit page.

The Advance and Premier customers of HSBC would enjoy a higher interest rate for 3 or 6 month terms.

Deposits has to be made in a non-Renminbi currency which will be converted to the Renminbi based on the bank’s prevailing rate. Withdrawals has to be by way of foreign exchange conversion into non-rmb denominated currency.

Bank of China (BOC) also offers Renminbi deposits to retail customers on a limited scale.

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