Cutback in deposit insurance a challenge for banks and account holders

[webfact]

 

 

 

Many depositors may have to think hard about the safety of their cash deposits in commercial banks after deposit insurance was slashed to a maximum of Bt1 million from Bt5 million per depositor per financial institution.

 

The change took effect from August 11.

 

Stability of financial system

The idea of deposit insurance was born out of the 1997 financial crisis when several finance companies and commercial banks collapsed, leaving account holders stranded.

 

Before the crisis, small banks and many finance companies used to offer financial products with high-interest rates to depositors and investors, who were negligent about the high risk of insolvency of those financial institutions.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/cutback-in-deposit-insurance-a-challenge-for-banks-and-account-holders/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-08-16

 

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[Tuvoc]

One million baht is not a lot of money, there was really no need to do this in my opinion. But at least it covers the 800k you need in the bank for retirement extensions.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Tuvoc

[Isaan sailor]

Told my wife I had to move money to balance accounts within insured account changes.  First time in my life I had uninsured money in a bank.  Can sleep better now.

[Mickeymaus]

There is only one option if you care. Avoid to have more than 1 million Baht at a bank (the company). And don't forget that accounts in foreign currencies are not covered. It wasn't for sure a good time to reduce the insurance... 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Mickeymaus

[worgeordie]

People will be moving any excess cash to Government Banks,

GHB , GSB , BAAC, covering any amount.

coincidence, that the Government is in need of money ????

in these trying times.

regards worgeordie

[Mickeymaus]

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

People will be moving any excess cash to Government Banks,

GHB , GSB , BAAC, covering any amount.

coincidence, that the Government is in need of money ????

in these trying times.

regards worgeordie

Yes, but only if you are allowed to open an account there. The better solution seems to be -> only have in this country what you really need and what is protected. Sadly - I can't give you any other advice. But okay - you always can hope for the best. 

[j.a.farang001]

I opened up an account with a different bank (KBank, actually) and moved about half my savings there. The silver lining is that KBank has easy mobile payments for my utilities - PEA and PWA. Bangkok Bank doesn't have a payment option for those guys.

[worgeordie]

2 minutes ago, j.a.farang001 said:

I opened up an account with a different bank (KBank, actually) and moved about half my savings there. The silver lining is that KBank has easy mobile payments for my utilities - PEA and PWA. Bangkok Bank doesn't have a payment option for those guys.

Is it safe to have half your saving in an account with mobile access ? ,

I only keep a minimum in any account that is connected to a Debit

card, mobile access .

regards worgeordie

[Mickeymaus]

2 minutes ago, j.a.farang001 said:

I opened up an account with a different bank (KBank, actually) and moved about half my savings there. The silver lining is that KBank has easy mobile payments for my utilities - PEA and PWA. Bangkok Bank doesn't have a payment option for those guys.

At Bangkok Bank there are 2 versions - the browser version and the app. It is impossible to make a transfer from my foreign accounts at the app. And it is impossible to make any transfer to a 3rd party account at the browser version. I complained already - but so far nobody cares. 

[nrasmussen]

6 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

At Bangkok Bank there are 2 versions - the browser version and the app. It is impossible to make a transfer from my foreign accounts at the app. And it is impossible to make any transfer to a 3rd party account at the browser version. I complained already - but so far nobody cares. 

Unless Bangkok Bank has changed something recently, it is possible to make transfers to 3rd party accounts using a browser; I have done so several times. Indeed, that is how I pay my rent.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Told my wife I had to move money to balance accounts within insured account changes.  First time in my life I had uninsured money in a bank.  Can sleep better now.

I don't keep any money in a Thai bank... I sleep like a baby every night.

[Mickeymaus]

13 minutes ago, nrasmussen said:

Unless Bangkok Bank has changed something recently, it is possible to make transfers to 3rd party accounts using a browser; I have done so several times. Indeed, that is how I pay my rent.

Perhaps I am using the wrong browser. But I would not complain here if it works. 

[nrasmussen]

6 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

Perhaps I am using the wrong browser. But I would not complain here if it works. 

Yeah, that looks strange. Sorry, but I have no suggestions for what the problem might be.

[Mickeymaus]

4 minutes ago, nrasmussen said:

Yeah, that looks strange. Sorry, but I have no suggestions for what the problem might be.

It was even more strange. I can't pay my 3BB Internet bill at the location I normally go - because of Covid it is closed. So I tried to use my account at Bangkok Bank. At the browser version I entered the account and it said that the amount cannot be more than 0 - it was 631. Then I entered 0 and it said that the amount cannot be 0. Then I installed the app and there it worked. They achieved it - they got on my nerves... 

[JimGant]

On 8/16/2021 at 9:02 AM, webfact said:

The idea of deposit insurance was born out of the 1997 financial crisis when several finance companies and commercial banks collapsed, leaving account holders stranded.

But did any depositors at the large, well known banks (Bangkok Bank, KBank, etc) lose any money? I can't seem to find any info about this, but I suspect the Thai Gov't covered any losses at these banks -- and would do again in an event where deposit insurance proved inadequate. "Too big to fail" is not just a Western term.