Government Insurance For Bank Accounts

[thequietman]

THe 1 million baht limit comes into effect in August this year, but is the 1 million limit only for one account at one branch, or can you have 2 accounts for example with the same bank, but at 2 seperate branches?

 

Many thanks for any info.

[Brierley]

It's per bank and it doesn't include certain types of accounts such as fixed or time deposits, foreign currency accounts and investment accounts.

 

The government has tried to reduce the limits several times over the years but has always changed their mind at the last minute and extended the status quo. That may well happen this time.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Brierley

[Thomas J]

41 minutes ago, thequietman said:

THe 1 million baht limit comes into effect in August this year, but is the 1 million limit only for one account at one branch, or can you have 2 accounts for example with the same bank, but at 2 seperate branches?

Not familiar with Thai system of bank insurance, however I am a former bank executive who worked at some of the largest banks in the United States.  Keep in mind, insurance is great if one bank or perhaps a couple banks fall into financial difficulty and are declared insolvent.  However just like in the USA which has FDIC. and FSLIC insurance for depositors, if the entire system failed that is a financial meltdown in the country occurred, there is not enough ink that could print the amount of money necessary to pay off everyone.  That is, the government prospectively would honor its responsibility to make every depositor whole, but the money would not be worth the paper it is printed on.  Same here in Thailand.  One bank or a couple is manageable.  The entire system collapse and no, you will not recoup the value of your deposits.  Personally, I don't have much of a balance in my Thai bank accounts.  I am suspect of their true financial health.  A prudent depositor not only does not keep his money with one bank, they don't keep it in one currency. 

[kingofthemountain]

38 minutes ago, Brierley said:

It's per bank and it doesn't include certain types of accounts such as fixed or time deposits, foreign currency accounts and investment accounts.

 

The government has tried to reduce the limits several times over the years but has always changed their mind at the last minute and extended the status quo. That may well happen this time.

Plus if unfortunately the governement guarantee on the 1 million per account

was called, you can already presume that the situation will be quite desperate

so i can already see a registration to be indemnised where you have to enter

your Thai ID card number as a first step

 

In my country of origin there is a similar mechanism of guarantee

the man in charge of the public guarantee fund, a nice chap, reconized himself

in front of the cameras that his fund had less than 10% of the money he was

supposed to cover, so if the 6 th most powerfull economy in the world is unable

to do it, you can imagine what con do Thailand, at the 26 th rank

 

[topt]

49 minutes ago, Brierley said:

and it doesn't include certain types of accounts such as fixed

Can you link to something that says this as it was not my understanding last time I looked at the details on their web site?

 

I am talking fixed accounts as per being able to withdraw early but losing interest which is the standard for most foreigners as it is usable for Immigration purposes. However most on here refer to them as fixed accounts.

[topt]

1 minute ago, topt said:

Can you link

Does not say anything here about it as far as I can see - (DPA FAQs in English)

 

https://www.dpa.or.th/en/file/download/khumux-tham-txb-phasa-xangkvs

[shortstop2]

I am trying to figure out what to do in August as I will have approx 1.5M in Thai banks of which 800K has to stay there for much of the year.

 

The bulk of my money is in a Mee Tai Dai at Krungsri which pays 1% interest.   I am think if it looks like there could be a banking crisis that I just withdraw the excess and either put it in a low yielding account at another bank or stick it in my safe.   Generally before the stuff hits the fan there are some strong warnings.

 

Are some of you planning to diversify by using multiple banks?

[Brierley]

1 hour ago, topt said:

Can you link to something that says this as it was not my understanding last time I looked at the details on their web site?

 

I am talking fixed accounts as per being able to withdraw early but losing interest which is the standard for most foreigners as it is usable for Immigration purposes. However most on here refer to them as fixed accounts.

Sorry, I am wrong, it does include fixed accounts. The ones that aren't included are foreign currency accounts and investments accounts and also insurance based investment accounts.

[Chris.B]

3 hours ago, Brierley said:

It's per bank and it doesn't include certain types of accounts such as fixed or time deposits, foreign currency accounts and investment accounts.

 

The government has tried to reduce the limits several times over the years but has always changed their mind at the last minute and extended the status quo. That may well happen this time.

That's wrong!