ICICI Bank offering highest rates at their Singapore office

eeja

Interest rates w.e.f. effective November 10th, 2008 to November 14th, 2008

12 months
7.01% 7.01% 7.06% 7.06%

This fixed rate is available to everyone including residents of England and Wales to whom this website is directed. and is the highest I could find.
Just like the Republic of Ireland , the Republic of Singapore gives an unlimited guarantee on all deposits of approved banks operating in Singapore so you enjoy complete safety.
The downside ? Like ICICI UK please do not expect the highest level of service but who cares if you dont have to contact them for a year !

mroller

I did consider them a while ago.

are you sure you can open an account without a personal visit? I have been to their website and nowhere it says I can open an account!

Baldur

mroller wrote: »

are you sure you can open an account without a personal visit? I have been to their website and nowhere it says I can open an account!

For both Term & Floating Rate Deposits, the site says "Contact us".

astreix

i don't think deposits in singapore branch are covered by any deposit protection scheme. So do consider that. See my earlier post
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=15650407#poststop

Personally I'd forgo a small amount of interest for the security offered by FSCS in UK

eeja

kthaker wrote: »

i don't think deposits in singapore branch are covered by any deposit protection scheme. So do consider that. See my earlier post
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=15650407#poststop

Personally I'd forgo a small amount of interest for the security offered by FSCS in UK

Reply
The UK guarantee covers only £50K. The Singapore gurantee covers ALL amounts even as much as £100 million if you have that amount on deposit .
To allay any doubts, herewith copied and pasted written confirmation from the SDIC mentioned by kthaker 'as giving only a small guarantee'. kthakers posting/ link has already been refuted and it is hoped he will be noble enough withdraw that incorrect information regarding there being no guarantee on deposits at Singapore licenced banks.

The Deposit Insurance Scheme administered by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation is still in force. The Singapore Government guarantee is over and above the limit covered by SDIC and cover the full amount of all deposits.

Regards,

Loh Chock Piew
SDIC

evenasus

eeja wrote: »

Reply
The UK guarantee covers only £50K. The Singapore gurantee covers ALL amounts even as much as £100 million if you have that amount on deposit .
To allay any doubts, herewith copied and pasted written confirmation from the SDIC mentioned by kthaker 'as giving only a small guarantee'. kthakers posting/ link has already been refuted and it is hoped he will be noble enough withdraw that incorrect information regarding there being no guarantee on deposits at Singapore licenced banks.

The Deposit Insurance Scheme administered by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation is still in force. The Singapore Government guarantee is over and above the limit covered by SDIC and cover the full amount of all deposits.

Regards,

Loh Chock Piew
SDIC

Wouldn't fancy trying to get my money back from Singapore if things did go wrong.
Iceland were supposed to guarantee a certain amount of your money, were they not?
Look what happened there.

eeja

evenasus wrote: »

Wouldn't fancy trying to get my money back from Singapore if things did go wrong.
Iceland were supposed to guarantee a certain amount of your money, were they not?
Look what happened there.

Reply

Dear evenasus,
Please please do not speak of Singapore and Iceland in the same breath in this context. They are both islands and that's about it.

Geographically and literally they are a world apart also, one being near the Equator and the other near the North Pole.

Singapore is Triple AAA rated and a Commonwealth country, a first world nation currently no 1 in the honest non corrupt league enjoying the highest possible reputation all around the world and especially in finance..The country has ZERO debt and $150 billion of reserves.

Iceland on the other hand is BUST and has ZERO reserves.
Although a delightful country has fish as its main and almost sole export.( Excluding of course the late great Magnus Magnusson ! )

PS I love Iceland and a fan of its saga history. Have visited the place and also Singapore numerous times but when it comes to finance well....there is just NO comparison.

astreix

eeja wrote: »

Reply
The UK guarantee covers only £50K. The Singapore gurantee covers ALL amounts even as much as £100 million if you have that amount on deposit .
To allay any doubts, herewith copied and pasted written confirmation from the SDIC mentioned by kthaker 'as giving only a small guarantee'. kthakers posting/ link has already been refuted and it is hoped he will be noble enough withdraw that incorrect information regarding there being no guarantee on deposits at Singapore licenced banks.

The Deposit Insurance Scheme administered by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation is still in force. The Singapore Government guarantee is over and above the limit covered by SDIC and cover the full amount of all deposits.

Regards,

Loh Chock Piew
SDIC

Don't intend to be confontrational, but are you an employee of the bank?

The SDIC guarantee FYI only covers SGD denominated deposits in singapore. it does not cover foreign currency deposits. Please see the website of SDIC itself which confirms this.
http://www.sdic.org.sg/coverage.html

When then bank itself on its website says deposits are not covered by deposit protection schemes of India & Singapore (http://www.icicibank.com.sg/sg_disclosure.htm) AND SDIC also says the same thing on itswebsite, I don't know why you are hell bent on trying to mislead people into believing that they are protected?

Now as you yourself suggested you might like to be "noble" enough and withdraw your misleading posts :rotfl:

eeja

kthaker wrote: »

Don't intend to be confontrational, but are you an employee of the bank?

The SDIC guarantee FYI only covers SGD denominated deposits in singapore. it does not cover foreign currency deposits. Please see the website of SDIC itself which confirms this.
http://www.sdic.org.sg/coverage.html

When then bank itself on its website says deposits are not covered by deposit protection schemes of India & Singapore (http://www.icicibank.com.sg/sg_disclosure.htm) AND SDIC also says the same thing on itswebsite, I don't know why you are hell bent on trying to mislead people into believing that they are protected?

Now as you yourself suggested you might like to be "noble" enough and withdraw your misleading posts :rotfl:

This is just incredible. ! You have a recent letter above making it clear that ALL DEPOSITS are guaranteed by the Republic of Singapore but insist on producing a link clearly dated 2006 (at the bottom) to justify old outdated information .
OK ...can obtain a letter from the same gentleman confirming that all deposits are covered, including foreign currency deposits .
I trust that this will not only satisfy you but also enable you to have the good grace to admit your mistake.
In the meanwhile while awaiting their reply ...banks shut here on Sundays ..I paste again another article showing your information to be totally out of date misguided and WRONG .


Thursday, October 16, 2008

Singapore U-turn, guarantees all bank deposits

Gotcha, just what I wrote in my previous post right after midnight last night! Hong Kong fully guaranteed bank deposits two days ago. Can Singapore not follow suit? I asked. Of course, not!
But I am surprised that Singapore caved in so quickly. This is a complete U-turn at warp speed!
It is a total reversal of Singapore’s earlier policy, which was:

• Singapore dollar bank deposits were insured for up to $20,000
• And if a bank failed, the depositors were to receive the sum insured not from the government but from the premiums paid by banks as members of the Deposit Insurance Scheme.

Now reports Channel NewsAsia:

Singapore government said it would guarantee all Singdollar and foreign currency deposits of individual and non-bank customers in licensed banks, finance companies and merchant banks…

The guarantee will be backed by S$150 billion ($101.5 billion) of the reserves of the Singapore government.

Hmm, the reserves pledged are still less than the portfolios of the two Singapore sovereign wealth funds, Temasek Holdings and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).
And please note, the government is guaranteeing foreign currency deposits as well!
The Finance Ministry and MAS made the reason behind the decision pretty clear in a joint statement today. Translated into plain English, it means the Singapore financial system remains stable; but the government decided to prevent any outflow of money into countries which have already guaranteed bank deposits.
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah used almost the same words to explain why Hong Kong decided to fully guarantee bank deposits.
Bank depositors will no doubt welcome such competition!
The only possible complaint: Why so slow, Singapore? Usually, so ahead of the curve, Singapore was for once playing catch-up with Hong Kong. America, Britain, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and other countries where bank deposits are already fully guaranteed by the government.
But one shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Thank you, Singapore!

JayTee99_2

eeja wrote: »

This is just incredible. ! You have a recent letter above making it clear that ALL DEPOSITS are guaranteed by the Republic of Singapore but insist on producing a link clearly dated 2006 (at the bottom) to justify old outdated information .

all letters aside...
that 2006 date is nothing to do with the date of the page posted on the sdic website!

it is the copyright date of the website, year it was setup, which appears on every page

that 'Scope of Coverage' page is clearly the current, most recent page!

eeja

Still don't believe that Singapore has guaranteed ALL bank deposits ?
How many press cuttings are needed before you can accept the fact ?


Singapore, Malaysia guarantee bank deposits
Moves by Hong Kong, others raise pressure on hold-outs



By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:51 a.m. EDT Oct. 17, 2008
Comments: 1




NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Malaysia and Singapore said Friday they would guarantee all deposits in their nations' banks through the end of 2010, mirroring a move made earlier this week by Hong Kong, Australia and other regional powers.


Reports said Hong Kong's deposit guarantee Tuesday had channeled capital flows into its banks and away from the rest of the region, as depositors shifted funds to seek out safety. Similar moves by Australia, Indonesia and others have increased pressure for hold-outs to make guarantees of their own.
A joint statement by Singaporean fiscal and monetary authorities acknowledged the need to respond to other countries' deposit guarantees.
"The announcement by a few jurisdictions in the region of government guarantees for bank deposits has set off a dynamic that puts pressure on other jurisdictions to respond or else risk disadvantaging and potentially weakening their own financial institutions and financial sectors," the statement said, adding it would guarantee a total of 150 billion dollars (US$102 billion).
"This is why although Singapore's banking system continues to be sound, the government has decided to take precautionary action to avoid an erosion of banks' deposit base," it said.
Similarly, Malaysia's central bank -- Bank Negara -- issued a statement making its own assurances.
"These measures are pre-emptive and precautionary, since Malaysian financial institutions are well-capitalized with ample liquidity, and confidence of depositors remains intact," Bank Negara said.
A Wall Street Journal report Friday quoted Moh Siong Sim, regional economist with Citigroup in Singapore, as saying that "more countries may follow within the region, just to prevent any kind of unstable move of money within the banking system."
Michael Kitchen is a copy editor for MarketWatch and is based in New York