Royal Approval for 23 Gambling Activities, Including Bull Races and Mahjong

[danozxfxr]

After recently reading the finance ministers comment of proposed insurance on deposits here I'm a little concerned. Are all the savings & fixed term accounts in all Thai banks completely uninsured? I understand that these banks are like franchises. If your individual bank holding your savings closes their doors are you completely separated from your savings. If so could anyone recommend a safer means (for those of us not rolling in dough) of maintaining our minimum in a Thai bank to lawfully comply with the immigrations retirement visa requirements? Are certain banks less risky then others? Interest is always a consideration & the fixed terms here are better then anything I could get in the States.

Thanks in advance for any solid advice!

[Tywais]

For the purposes of the general investor, meaning any of us living in Thailand or holding funds in a financial institution here, the key item in the Act concerns the amount of protection per depositor and per bank. Since the Act came into place and through the 10 th of August 2011, the full amount of each deposit is covered. Because of this, it was not necessary to worry over where funds are placed, or how they are distributed between accounts. Whatever the amount deposited, you were covered. Period. Taking effect 11 August 2011 until 10 August 2012 , the coverage drops to 50 million baht per depositor per bank. For most of us, this is still quite a comprehensive coverage amount.

The concern is going forward from 11 August 2012, just a little over a year away, when only 1 million baht will be covered by government protection. The implications of this change are significant, especially when one looks at how the coverage will apply. Multiple branches of the same bank will count as one deposit and will be lumped together. Though married couples will receive protection on a per person and per account basis of up to 1 million, separately, in the event of their owning a joint account, protection will not be separated out for that account. In most cases, the money will be split and counted against the individual account of each spouse. This means that management of funds across varied institutions may become a need for many depositors. The chart below illustrates this.

Deposit Insurance Law