The week that was in Thailand news: Thai banks: The "Chang Principle" and "Leo Hypothesis"

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Thai banks: The "Chang Principle" and "Leo Hypothesis"

 

 

Being a closet anarchist I have always had a healthy disrespect for most institutions but especially politicians and governments, the police, the civil service, the armed forces, immigration....and banks. The last of these was everywhere one looked in the Thai news this week.

 

I am very wary of any officialdom. I found those in charge in Thailand more tolerable than those in the UK, however; their complete brazenness and tendency to do things with more of a smile endeared me. They also exhibited a refreshing ability to bend the rules. Though this can both be a boon and a hindrance I preferred to focus on when it had been beneficial.

 

On one occasion a consular official in Penang stamped the observation page in my passport, the only page left, even though the pedantic British had forbidden such  a shocking move. This contrasted with the British Embassy in Bangkok who refused to give my wife a visa because a "T" was not crossed....

 

When my first daughter was born considerable expense was incurred because I wrote my middle name indistinctly with a "chor chang" lookalike rather than a "sor soo". Thus Simon became Chaimon in their eyes. I left it for a dozen years; at least Thais will allow you to put off till tomorrow what should be done today, part of the national psyche.

 

My dealings with the armed forces and banks cause much merriment in my family. My son joined the British Army at 16 and was astonished when I didn't stand in his way. The "joke" went that I was more than happy to see him off my premises and shipped to Afghanistan. In the end he was given early retirement and compensation after a parade ground injury. Way to go son!

 

Aforementioned daughter joined Barclays which caused a few raised eyebrows from dad until I found out that she was paid a 10,000 quid signing on fee aged 24. She also said rather haughtily that she was in "equities, not retail, daddy". She sits in front of 20 monitors and calls it work.

 

I opened my first bank account in Thailand at Siam Commercial at the end of Soi Ngam Duplee. These were the days before farangs with Thai wives were called ATMs and when online banking was unimaginable. Years later I was to tear a strip off an SCB manager for some disgraceful treatment at his branch. I reminded him in Thai that I had already been a customer of his bank for more than 30 years prompting his female assistant to intervene and ask me to wait.

 

It was amusing to glimpse the manager hot footing it out of the bank and get into a taxi in an effort to rectify the problem he had caused. It was all sorted amicably in the end.

 

I've borrowed money and had mortgages but mostly saved and saved in Thai banks in accounts of all shapes, sizes and durations. I must have set an all comers record for the number of free umbrellas and calendars.

 

Dealing with banks seemed easier before the Tom Yam Kung crash of 1997 when we used to enjoy deposit interest rates of 10% and more. A wealthy English friend of mine was once given an extra 2% by a manager after he threatened to close his account. These days we are lucky to get 1.5% after the tax on interest is applied. To try and get an edge I turned a healthy wodge of money into sterling at 43 baht to the pound. Oh well; I was never going to be a banker.

 

Generally the Thai banks have been pleasant to me. Even if they were slow at times the gorgeous women who invariably populate their counters made up for that. An ATM failed to spew out 10K once and my account was debited. But it was sorted in a day or two. A Bangkok Bank manager was once extremely kind to me when I received some bad news in his presence. He went out of his way to help with a loan. His name, appropriately enough, was Heart not something one usually expects from banks.

 

In several negative bank stories this week and last many posters on the forum have suggested that stuffing one's money under the mattress would be better than trusting Thai institutions.

 

The wrecking ball started rolling last week when a leading restaurant owner in Samut Prakan had millions pinched from an account at the Bangkok Bank. A female staff member faces embezzlement charges. The bank fell over themselves in grovelling to "Hia Ma" (make sure you pronounce that one correctly) who milked the situation for all he could.

 

This week began with the Bank of Thailand chief making comments about the strength of the baht that had many posters suggesting he had only just become aware of the meteoric strength of the currency. The idea that the elite are somehow responsible and complicit in this - rather than economics - is a favorite of the TV barstool curmudgeons.

 

Generally their economic theories are worked out on the "Chang Principle" (height of barstool divided by depth of beer remaining in glass) or the "Leo Hypothesis" - that Thais and Thai banks will do everything to shaft you especially if you are a foreigner.

 

However, I'll grant you that the Bank of Thailand seems to be getting a little concerned and looked a bit clueless as to what to do to alleviate the problem. 

 

Then came further damaging press for the banks. Down in Koh Samui an old story about a real estate developer was taken to the press. Jittima claimed that nine million baht was taken from her account by an assistant bank manager who forged signatures and applied for a bogus ATM card.

 

In line with normal defamation guidelines the bank remained nameless though Jittima said that the employee had just gone to another branch on the island.

 

Then came a story about a 76 year old woman, just out of heart surgery, who filed a lawsuit against the Kasikorn Bank and her own daughter for swindling her out of a staggering 250 million baht. The bank are circling the wagons on this one, a Thai habit banks perform every bit as well as politicians, the police and school directors.

 

Immigration rarely bother to get the wagons out as their track record is that they see themselves as almost incapable of doing wrong. If someone has transgressed they are shuffled off to the PM's office, aren't they BJ!

 

Immigration spent the week at the top of nearly every Thaivisa newsletter. Along with the usual over-stayers and two bit pick-pockets that needed chief Big Oud's presence along with a mountain of vinyl, came a piece of what the editorial team at TV call "Gold".

 

This was the story of the arrest in Chiang Mai of two "beg-packers" selling stuff in the street without work permits. One poster - in appalling ignorance of real news - asked if this was "newsworthy". Are you kidding! Stories that divide public opinion like this are the lifeblood of online news.

 

Rooster tried to encapsulate the issue with a paragraph outlining the two sides. Then predictably all hell broke loose on both the forum and Facebook. "Blacklist these entitled Western criminals breaking Thai laws making life hard for the honest among us", screamed one camp. Even though one of the beg-packers was Chinese.

 

 "Leave them alone they are not harming you, there are more important things for immigration to worry about" said the other.

 

The latter camp then contrived to ruin their argument by burbling on ad nauseam (with emphasis on the nausea) about TM 30 not to mention brown envelopes and 500 baht fines.

 

Then Chiang Mai immigration - from where most of the stories emanated this week - announced that they had raided a cram school after a tip off about a 57 year old US female tourist who was "annoying" the locals by teaching languages there. We were asked to believe that many tourists were doing this in the city nipping out across the border every 30 days for donkeys years.

 

Many on the forum - including Rooster to a degree - questioned this in the light of claims that immigration are getting much stricter about tourists reentering the kingdom willy-nilly. The scandals of working without a work permit took me back to the early 1980s when I put on my best shirt, only slightly frayed at the edges, to apply at a Bangkok language school.

 

I can't be two faced about this. Surely helping the Thais with English or Chinese is beneficial even if the teachers don't have PGCE's. At the very least Thailand should be encouraging people to help out and making it easier to work in the kingdom when Thai jobs are not under threat.

 

Rooster's warped morality is based largely on not being two faced. The best part of a decade ago when Britain's Prince Andrew came to Bangkok I sidestepped the opportunity to meet His Royal Randiness. Not for the fact that he was randy, you understand, more for the reason that he is a complete todger. I had heard about his sense of "woyal whimsy" from a woman who taught both his children and my own son.

 

His shambolic foray into "putting the record straight" about Jeffrey Epstein on the BBC this week recalled memories of his visit to my school in Krung Thep. A Business Studies class had been set up for him to observe but he soon tired of the prepared questions rudely barging the shocked teacher out of the way and expounding his own "Leo Hypothesis" perched on the end of a table.

 

At the very least someone should have told him not to park his derriere - albeit a royal one - on a table in Thailand. The sycophantic headmaster fawned and scraped but I sneered. Funny that I was glued to "The Crown Series 3" on Netflix this week - as much as I revel in closet anarchy I also have to admit to some "closet monarchism"; maybe a deceased figure in Thailand influenced that.

 

PM Prayut raised his head about the parapet this week though it seemed to be a ceramic one. Uncle Big Too was spreading his silk-clad-gruffness thin as he sought to promote "World Toilet Day" and "Domestic Violence Awareness" on Tuesday. Strange, but with all the violence between husbands and wives in Thailand I already felt completely aware.

 

Uncle seemed confused about all this civilian awareness nonsense. He prefers khaki to malarkey. He was spied wearing World HIV/Aids Day insignia even though that day is marked NEXT week.

 

Thai toilets are a favorite subject of mine as I have spent long enough in them to read "War and Peace" in Braille. The Loos of LOS have improved dramatically over the years, so much so that even the Japanese - aficionados of lavatories - have praised them. There is only one in the UK that I enjoy using - at my sister's where I installed a bum-gun for my annual visits.

 

And so to a few Rooster awards. The "Foot in Mouth" prize goes to Thanet Sorat, a government adviser who was trying to promote Thai bullet trains. Fair play for that but his comment that the systems will see "sleek trains pinballing around the country" left this reader a little concerned. Maybe I'll stick to the safety of driving a motorcycle one handed in flip-flops......

 

Also on the subject of trains it was announced that fares on the Purple Line in Bangkok would be reduced as a "New Year gift to the public". This was later rebranded as a "Christmas gift" when it was revealed that it would only apply to monthly tickets, children of a certain age, people of a certain height......blah blah. I worked out that I would have to be a one meter tall pensioner with advanced leprosy and calluses on my right thumb to qualify. Even then it would have to be 2.38 pm on a wet Wednesday.

 

Fares on much of the capital's old and soon to begin new routes need to be lowered across the board not just for selected categories. The public need to be encouraged to get out of their cars and off their motorcycles as a matter of priority.

 

The "Darwin Award for Complete Lack of Service to the Gene Pool" goes to the Buriram family who thought they'd get away with smuggling "ice" to Japan in sardine cans. They believed that some blue copy paper would mask the drugs from scanners at Don Muang but even this proved unprovable. They were in the hands of plod after an informant dobbed them in before they even reached the airport. The award was a close run thing with a 22 year old man in Ratchaburi who went on YouTube to find out how to rob a bank......

 

The "Fair Play" award goes to the many Chinese tourists who took to social media to complain about a Thai company who shamelessly ripped them off at pathetic Loy Krathong/Yi Peng cultural events in Chiang Mai. The sight of dozens of disgruntled Chinese chanting and storming a stage after local dignitaries had been banging on about the wonders of Thai culture was absolutely priceless.

 

The "Any Comment Would Be Superfluous" prize kindly sponsored by Bernard Trink goes to the Constitutional Court for their decision to disqualify Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from parliament.

 

Finally, life at Rooster Central was turned upside down this week with the midweek sacking of Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino. Shell-shocked, I  came downstairs as Mrs R was preparing my chicks, six and three, for school and imparted the grave news in English. I also readied them for the stark reality that a "special" Portuguese man called Jose was set to take over.

 

The children listened in reverential silence.  Mounting the stairs, coffee in hand, to return to my early morning translation work my six year old - whose initials are THFC - said to her mum in Thai:

 

"What the hell is he going on about?"

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-11-23

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Samui Bodoh]

An enjoyable read as always...

 

18 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The "Any Comment Would Be Superfluous" prize kindly sponsored by Bernard Trink goes to the Constitutional Court for their decision to disqualify Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from parliament.

I am afraid that I must disagree, but in the spirit of things I will keep it short...

 

ANCHORS!

 

(spelling, add a 'W')

 

Nuff' said

 

 

[chickenslegs]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

There is only one [toilet] in the UK that I enjoy using - at my sister's where I installed a bum-gun for my annual visits.

I do hope your annual visits are not in winter.

Ouch!

[leeneeds]

12 hours ago, rooster59 said:

On one occasion a consular official in Penang stamped the observation page in my passport, the only page left

Asking for stamp at immigration to be placed on a used unfilled page  is a hit and miss affair at Survanabhumi but I ask any way.

[bluesofa]

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The scandals of working without a work permit took me back to the early 1980s when I put on my best shirt, only slightly frayed at the edges, to apply at a Bangkok language school.

In 1990 I was living in Bangkok in cheap Klong Toey apartment. Incredibly two Mormons were trying to convert the locals (and I don't mean to a different type of gas).

I shut the door in their faces once I'd stopped laughing.

 

A week later I was talking about it to another ferang who lived in the same building. He reckoned they had since been nabbed by immigration for working without a work permit,

Praise the lord!

[inactiveposter]

I’m a newbie here (8 years), and have made a monthly transfer of funds from my US Bank to the New York branch of a Thai bank where I have a local account here. This month the transfer didn’t go through. The US bank executed the transfer but it was refused by the NY Thai branch. Went to my bank here and they said the NY branch changed their routing processes and I would have to contact them to fix it !?!? Still working on it.

Quote

 

 

[NormanW]

I remember the days of 11.25% interest from Thai Farmers bank on Pattaya Klang and getting way of 70 baht to the pound!

 

Those were the days.

[overherebc]

You can have all the disrespect you like for various 'organisations', but, at this time of the year, especially with respect to UK and many other nations I'd leave the armed forces out of it.

Lots of them died so you can be free to write your bit every week in freedom.

[Orton Rd]

44 minutes ago, overherebc said:

You can have all the disrespect you like for various 'organisations', but, at this time of the year, especially with respect to UK and many other nations I'd leave the armed forces out of it.

Lots of them died so you can be free to write your bit every week in freedom.

Actually he is not free to write what he likes every week- he lives in Thailand!

[overherebc]

7 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Actually he is not free to write what he likes every week- he lives in Thailand!

Everyone has a choice. That's the point.

Many expats from UK will have plans to return to UK in later years to take advantage of heaith services, free bus passes, education services for their dependants blah blah blah probably without contributing to UK all their working lives.

[Golden Triangle]

I must be off the scale in your " Healthy Disrespect " scale then, I'm ex forces, ex civil servant who worked for a police force, no hard feelings though Rooster, someone has to keep the civvies safe from harm ???? That includes keeping the red hoards at bay in Germany, done my bit in NI and done flood relief in the UK back in the 70's while you were sunning your backside in Thailand. 

 

Enjoyable read this week, thanks.

 

And I have no idea how I haven't been nominated for POTY LOL ????

[bluesofa]

19 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I must be off the scale in your " Healthy Disrespect " scale then, I'm ex forces, ex civil servant who worked for a police force, no hard feelings though Rooster, someone has to keep the civvies safe from harm ???? That includes keeping the red hoards at bay in Germany, done my bit in NI and done flood relief in the UK back in the 70's while you were sunning your backside in Thailand. 

 

Enjoyable read this week, thanks.

 

And I have no idea how I haven't been nominated for POTY LOL ????

I just can't help but ask: How would you know Rooster's backside was being exposed to the sun?

[overherebc]

25 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I must be off the scale in your " Healthy Disrespect " scale then, I'm ex forces, ex civil servant who worked for a police force, no hard feelings though Rooster, someone has to keep the civvies safe from harm ???? That includes keeping the red hoards at bay in Germany, done my bit in NI and done flood relief in the UK back in the 70's while you were sunning your backside in Thailand. 

 

Enjoyable read this week, thanks.

 

And I have no idea how I haven't been nominated for POTY LOL 

 

Edit.

Anwered the wrong post.

[Golden Triangle]

2 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I just can't help but ask: How would you know Rooster's backside was being exposed to the sun?

Come come now bluesofa, he was a young man when he got here, probably had testosterone oozing from every pore ???? I unfortunately was a tad older but the effect was the same ????

[overherebc]

20 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

Come come now bluesofa, he was a young man when he got here, probably had testosterone oozing from every pore ???? I unfortunately was a tad older but the effect was the same ????

The oozing bit doesn't paint a pretty picture.????

[Orton Rd]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

Everyone has a choice. That's the point.

Many expats from UK will have plans to return to UK in later years to take advantage of heaith services, free bus passes, education services for their dependants blah blah blah probably without contributing to UK all their working lives.

You mentioned the freedom to write not the freedom to clear off. When it comes to freedom of expression that does not exist here, especially on some subjects.

[bluesofa]

10 minutes ago, overherebc said:

The oozing bit doesn't paint a pretty picture.????

Oh I don't know, the River Ooze Ouse looks quite picturesque:

[overherebc]

Just now, bluesofa said:

Oh I don't know, the River Ooze Ouse looks quite picturesque:

I've oused there. A long time ago though.

[nausea]

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

Actually he is not free to write what he likes every week- he lives in Thailand!

Yeah, the interesting stuff never gets discussed; people outside of Thailand don't care, and those in Thailand are, frankly, scared.

[overherebc]

3 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

You mentioned the freedom to write not the freedom to clear off. When it comes to freedom of expression that does not exist here, especially on some subjects.

OK.

I'll try to add a glossary at the end of my next post.

????????

[Jonathan Swift]

As a fellow "closet anarchist" this is A breath of fresh air to read well grounded, educated, and enlightening copy in stark contrast to the usual fare. This is the kind of astute "finger on the pulse" reporting which preempts the usual wisea$$es, trolls, career arguers, and the just plain ignorant. I've been building and establishing a new life here in Bangkok for the past seven years, and have been resoundingly successful and happy, but there is a bit of a vacuum as to what's going on behind the scenes, which your story fills quite nicely. I have been blessed with good common sense and resourcefulness and done well navigating banks, immigration, problems with phone and internet service etc. Said common sense tells me what in g0d's name  is ANYONE doing paying 6000 baht ($200 US) for admission to ANYTHING here? Those are typically inflated American expenses for such things as concerts etc. I don't go to concerts anymore. And why would anyone keep 250m baht ($8m US) in an ordinary bank account given dozens of more sensible alternatives such as money market accounts or mutual funds? I have $150,000 US invested in a high yield mutual fund at a well respected and vetted company (Vanguard) which pays dividends of appx $1100 US every quarter, and has yielded over $30,000 US in gains since March 2017. My common sense tells me not to keep any more money in the bank than necessary to fulfill monthly income requirements (65,000 baht/month) for retirement visa. I never keep more than 15,000 baht cash on hand in my apartment, and never more than 5000 baht on my person. Transactions are made by Bangkok Bank credit card when possible, and they send an immediate confirmation of each charge via SMS message. For any problems there is a particular manager at Bangkok Bank at Paragon who is superb, speaks great English, and has a great sense of humor. Thanks for a great piece of writing, a high point in my day. Wonder if I'll bump into you one of these days at FCCT? The first 5 pints are on me. 

[sawadee1947]

Another boring family story. 

Why not write a book and spare us with your stuff here on TV ????

[NoComment]

Excellent read as always.

Thank you

[overherebc]

3 hours ago, overherebc said:

Everyone has a choice. That's the point.

Many expats from UK will have plans to return to UK in later years to take advantage of heaith services, free bus passes, education services for their dependants blah blah blah probably without contributing to UK all their working lives.

Sorry to see 3 of you so sad.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Swift said:

As a fellow "closet anarchist" this is A breath of fresh air to read well grounded, educated, and enlightening copy in stark contrast to the usual fare. This is the kind of astute "finger on the pulse" reporting which preempts the usual wisea$$es, trolls, career arguers, and the just plain ignorant. I've been building and establishing a new life here in Bangkok for the past seven years, and have been resoundingly successful and happy, but there is a bit of a vacuum as to what's going on behind the scenes, which your story fills quite nicely. I have been blessed with good common sense and resourcefulness and done well navigating banks, immigration, problems with phone and internet service etc. Said common sense tells me what in g0d's name  is ANYONE doing paying 6000 baht ($200 US) for admission to ANYTHING here? Those are typically inflated American expenses for such things as concerts etc. I don't go to concerts anymore. And why would anyone keep 250m baht ($8m US) in an ordinary bank account given dozens of more sensible alternatives such as money market accounts or mutual funds? I have $150,000 US invested in a high yield mutual fund at a well respected and vetted company (Vanguard) which pays dividends of appx $1100 US every quarter, and has yielded over $30,000 US in gains since March 2017. My common sense tells me not to keep any more money in the bank than necessary to fulfill monthly income requirements (65,000 baht/month) for retirement visa. I never keep more than 15,000 baht cash on hand in my apartment, and never more than 5000 baht on my person. Transactions are made by Bangkok Bank credit card when possible, and they send an immediate confirmation of each charge via SMS message. For any problems there is a particular manager at Bangkok Bank at Paragon who is superb, speaks great English, and has a great sense of humor. Thanks for a great piece of writing, a high point in my day. Wonder if I'll bump into you one of these days at FCCT? The first 5 pints are on me. 

So now you're no longer a closet anarchist having 'come out'  on TV?

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

Sorry to see 3 of you so sad.

I think I'm entitled after the British government took 40% of the inheritance due to me after my father died. 

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

2 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

Another boring family story. 

Why not write a book and spare us with your stuff here on TV ????

Thanks for reading. Your clicks are always appreciated. 

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

22 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I do hope your annual visits are not in winter.

Ouch!

Very occasionally they have been. Even in summer the water comes from the mains a little too cold for full comfort. Anything is better than the alternative, however. 

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

4 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I just can't help but ask: How would you know Rooster's backside was being exposed to the sun?

I can confirm that my backside has never been exposed to the sun in the 70s or any other decade for that matter. 

 

Besides in never go out in the sun, being like the locals I shun it until 4pm. 

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

11 hours ago, bluesofa said:

In 1990 I was living in Bangkok in cheap Klong Toey apartment. Incredibly two Mormons were trying to convert the locals (and I don't mean to a different type of gas).

I shut the door in their faces once I'd stopped laughing.

 

A week later I was talking about it to another ferang who lived in the same building. He reckoned they had since been nabbed by immigration for working without a work permit,

Praise the lord!

I usually take the P out of religious people. 

 

In the case or Mormons I take the second M.

 

Rooster