Lehman Brothers Saga Continues

Sarah Tan — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:28:35 +0000

Regarding the Lehman Brothers saga, and the High Notes and Minibonds issues, one word that stood out was ‘greed’.

When I watched the news last night, one woman admitted that it was greed that led her to put her money there. She was attracted by the 5% interest rate, instead of the less than 1% offered by Singapore fixed deposits. True, many were retirees and some were not highly educated. However, there is no such thing as free lunches in the world. The risks would have been considerably higher if the interest rate was higher.

Of course, it is sad to read about a cobbler in his 70s who had invested his life savings into the funds. I have heard of younger people who invested $100000. The positive thing is the younger professionals still have the ability to earn the amount again.

What DBS, Maybank and Hong Leong are doing now is to look at the profile of the investors, to decide who should get help. Maybank is looking at retirees and those with primary education or less. Hong Leong will look at ‘vulnerable investors’ while DBS is not coming forward with their criteria.

One costly lesson I’ve learnt is that you should know what you are buying into, and not what other people tell you to. You have to take responsibility.

Current Accounts in Singapore: An Overview

Sarah Tan — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:10:17 +0000

I decided to do a bit of research and check out which bank offers the best current account with cheque book services. I’ve included DBS, POSB, UOB, OCBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered, HSBC and Maybank. There are some other clauses you need to check, such as how much you will be charged if you stop a cheque or if there are insufficient funds in your accounts. Hope you will find the following table useful.

Banks	Minimum Sum	Monthly Service Charge	Cheque books	Comments
DBS	$3000 for auto-save	$7.50 if less than minimum sum $2 per month	Not mentioned New cheque book would be issued when cheques run out	If you are able to maintain $3000 in your current account at all times, this is a good choice. However, the monthly charge if you fall below the minimum sum is not the lowest around.
POSB	Nil for current account	$2 monthly fee and $2 addition if lower than $500 in Savings Account	Not mentioned New cheque book would be issued when cheques run out	If you do not wish to be tied down by zero interest rates, this is a good choice because you can keep your money in your savings account. The drawback is the monthly $2 payment, which could add up in the long run.
OCBC	$3000 for personal	$7.50 if less than minimum sum	S$2 per cheque from the 11^th cheque onwards per month if monthly average balance falls below S$1,000	$2 per cheque is exorbitant, especially if you have to write a lot of cheques.
UOB	$10000	Nil But $15 if less than minimum sum	Not mentioned	This is the highest minimum sum account around, and at $10000, it is certainly a huge sum. In addition, should you fall below that, the $15 charge is quite hefty compared to the other banks.
HSBC	$3000	$5 if below minimum sum	Free	This appears to be one of the best choices around. This is better than the DBS auto-save account.
Citibank	$2000 or salary for step-up account	Citibank-ing or Citigold fee of S$5 or S$50 if below minimum sum without salary deposit	Free	For those who deposit their salary into this account, it is a good offer. You only have to pay charges if you do not credit your salary directly to this step-up account. The Citigold fee is extremely hefty.
Standard Chartered	$3000 for personal current account	$7.50 if falls below $2000 $7.50 for cheque and save account if below $3000 (old accounts) and $5000 (new account) $2 transfer fee between current and save accounts	Free unlimited	This is one choice you may consider.

*The information here is based on what the websites say as of the published date. Please check with the banks personally if you wish to apply for any of the above services.

Sarah Tan – SingaporeProfit.com

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Lehman Brothers Saga Continues

Current Accounts in Singapore: An Overview