Is it safe Keeping money in Thai Bank?

[Thaitobe]

Hey,

So I'm not satisfied with my local bank (e.europe country has strict laws... they allow max $5k/mo to be sent out).

Would you consider it safe, to keep 6 digit figures in a Thai Bank? This would be for sending/receiving money on a regular basis.

I'm also looking at other alternatives such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

Please advise.

Thnx

[SheungWan]

Next time you are passing through HK airport you might call into the HSBC Premier branch in Terminal 1 or the non-Premier branch in Terminal 2 to discuss opening an account.

[Soutpeel]

I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket in Thailand, keep a small petty cash fund in Thailand and rest in HK or Sing, assuming her you are not a US citizen or green card holder

[Naam]

Would you consider it safe, to keep 6 digit figures in a Thai Bank?

This would be for sending/receiving money on a regular basis.

6 digits in what currency?

if you are referring to Thai Baht we are talking about peanuts which shouldn't cause any worries.

as far "sending money on a regular basis" you will face considerable problems if the "sending" refers to transfers from Thailand to abroad.

[fletchsmile]

Nothing is 100% risk free.

That said I m not worried about parking 6 figure sums in USD equivalent with a Thai bank. i.e if you mean $100k upwards.

That s based on a number of factors including a good understanding of the Thai banking sector.

Often a good idea to use more than one bank.

If you are mainly using it for THB money you will eventually use in Thailand it is useful for mitigating FX risks.

If you are planning to regularly send money out from it into currencies other than THB then would likely make more sense to open accounts outside Thailand in say Singapore or HK.

Thai banks are best for THB. If you are using other currencies as a retail investor it s often better to park your USD AUD GBP SGD or whatever outside Thailand.

Cheers

Fletch

Sent from my GT-I9152 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 22, 2014 by fletchsmile

[SheungWan]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

[Soutpeel]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

Why ?......I have held an account in Singapore for nearly 10 years and have never had to make an "occasional" visit in all those years it can all be done on-line or over the phone

[Litlos]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

Why ?......I have held an account in Singapore for nearly 10 years and have never had to make an "occasional" visit in all those years it can all be done on-line or over the phone

Same for me, about 8 years using Singapore and never been there. Something I have noticed is using Citibank with USD assuming you are not as US Citizen the transfers seem to happen a bit quicker. Also I can transfer Singapore to Thailand in about 5 minutes very cheaply with Citibank. Shame it takes 2 working days from Citibank Thailand to any other local bank.

Cheers

[noodle]

Since fractional reserve banks are invariably insolvent safety is only applicable to the extent that the deposit is guaranteed by the state. Anything over that may get seized after the bank fails. Just like Cyprus.

[falang07]

And the state guarantee is as useless as the fractional reserve banks safety since the moment any particular currency would face such a problem that would require the state guarantees applied, the value of that currency would plummet dramatically which would effectively mean huge losses for everyone. So even if the state would bring you back the full insured amount of 1,000,000 Baht (or whatever currency that would face the catastrophic scenario), its real value would be much, much lower than it used to be and the inflation would skyrocket immediately.

Edited April 23, 2014 by falang07

[falang07]

so is your money safe in the bank? Well, as to the face value, they are as to the real value, absolutely not!

Edited April 23, 2014 by falang07

[meatboy]

you can always give it to your gf.or wifes family for safe keeping.

[JimMagee]

If you are a US citizen then park your money in a Charles Schwab bank account. They are very international friendly and their VISA debt card is easy to use in Thailand, plus they reimburse all ATM fees. Only keep money in Thailand that you need to use there.

[pumpuy]

HSBC ? Better not ! Horrible Selfish Bankster Corp I call them . I was a client to HSBC once , will never do that again ! By far the worst Bank !

LGT in Singapore is good ...

[Suradit69]

This seems to be a weekly topic here at Thai Visa.

While it may seem like a prudent concern, if you already have your money in a dodgy European country that restricts what you can do with your own money, the question should probably have been asked first about that country and it's dubious fiscal policies.

And asking for advice here at Thai Visa is a bit like asking a stranger sitting next to you on a bus or jotting down investment advice written on a stall wall in a public toilet. The guy on the bus, the author with time on his hand in the toilet and respondents here at TV aren't really likely to have your best interests at heart or to be especially well-informed about bank safety. More likely they'll have some emotionally based agenda, especially here at the hub of Thai bashing.

Why not do a Google search for the locations of collapsed banks and countries where account holders are regularly under threat of government imposed penalties/restrictions. Aside from North Korea and the Sudan, most are in Farang Land.

[MantisMan]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

You do know that HSBC has been in the papers lately?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/08/08/hsbcs-1-9-billion-money-laundering-fine-and-the-somalian-cost-of-bank-regulation/

[SheungWan]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

You do know that HSBC has been in the papers lately?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/08/08/hsbcs-1-9-billion-money-laundering-fine-and-the-somalian-cost-of-bank-regulation/

I'll make a point of discussing that with them next time I am using the HSBC counter service in Hong Kong.

[slipperylobster]

About as safe as leaving it in your shoe when you are getting the happier part of a Thai Massage.

[Cosmo88]

Six figures in Baht is not that much money. Surely most major Thai bank accounts with such amounts would be covered by a deposit guarantee from the government, just as in many other countries.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The Thai govt's deposit insurance protection is currently 50 million baht, slated to fall to 25 million baht in Aug. 2015 and then to 1 million ($31,000+) baht in Aug. 2016. That's per account holder per bank, regardless of the number of branches involved.

If they stick to that plan and schedule, anyone ought to carefully consider whether they'd want to keep more than $31,000 U.S. (or its equivalent in other currencies) with any single Thai banking company.

http://www.dpa.or.th/ewt_news.php?nid=320&filename=index___EN

[fletchsmile]

For the deposit insurance one has to understand the context of the proposed phased reductions and the amounts.

In 2008 it was unlimited so they proposed to abolish the unlimited amount and phase in reductions to limited amounts. The authorities wanted to head towards being comparable practice to the west like the UK and USA. By removing unlimited guarantees the rationale is to encourage better market practices and make banks more responsible for their own actions so that the state would not just bail them out no matter who bad it gets. Depositors should make educated choices and in turn financial institutions knowing that, would know that if they took inappropriate risks the market would penalise them for cost of deposits once the blanket guarantee is removed.

At that point in time US was USD 100k and UK was GBP 35k. Hence in a Thai context bringing down over time to USD 30k and GBP 20k wasn't unreasonable given the differences in wealth and average depositors in the country. i.e comparing like for like THB 1mio was reasonable.

The act had a clause that the phased reductions could be amended, eg by economic or financial conditions.

Then ironically the global financial crisis hit around 2008 and suddenly it was the west that needed to give out blanket guarantees or increase:

- The Uk increased from 35k to 50k in 2008 and European banks did similar. At 1 Jan 2011 the increase settled around GBP 85k and EUR 100k.

- Meanwhile the US increased temporarily from 100k to 250k in 2008 and big names, eg Washington mutual failed. Dozens of US banks were failing and the US system in a precarious position. The increase was supposed to be temporary, but given the hundreds of banks failures in 2008,9 etc they eventually made it permanent

Against this background it was no surprise that the Thais decided to postpone their reductions. Which is why the dates of the original phased reductions were amended. Fast forward to 2014 and the western banks still have problems and haven't emerged fully from the crisis.

So in short there have been significant changes to the global finance system and global amounts of deposit insurance. At some point the Thai authorities will pick this up again.

Given how well they rode the GFC compared to the West, you have to give the Thai authorities some credit as to how well they have managed things. You'd also expect that they wouldn't just blindly revert to the 2008 levels, and will obviously take account of how the world has changed, as well as how other countries have significantly increased their deposit insurance levels compared to where they were at in 2008. They recognise the need to meet global and regional standards and the importance of competitiveness.

I'm convinced they will moved to a limited system at some point. However, as a personal educated opinion, I'll take anyone's bet that it won't be THB 1mio in 2016, once you understand the context

Cheers

Fletch

[bTW As an aside bear in mind what they also do with VAT. That is scheduled to go up next year since it was "temporarily" reduced after the Asian Financial crisis. Then again it has been slated as due to go up every year for a decade or so....Anyone with an understanding of Thailand is not surprised each year at the news that the rate is kept on hold]

[connda]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

You do know that HSBC has been in the papers lately?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/08/08/hsbcs-1-9-billion-money-laundering-fine-and-the-somalian-cost-of-bank-regulation/

Wasn't that something like $1.9B fine for laundering about $9B in cartel drug money, and nobody goes to jail. I'm still trying to process that one. That's like 5 weeks of operating profit -- whack whack -- nice hand slap. Go with HSBC. Too big to fail, too big to jail. You're money will be in good hands.

[SheungWan]

If opening up an account in either HK or Singapore then expect to have the overhead of an occasional visit there. If you don't want that then stick to Thailand.

You do know that HSBC has been in the papers lately?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/08/08/hsbcs-1-9-billion-money-laundering-fine-and-the-somalian-cost-of-bank-regulation/

Wasn't that something like $1.9B fine for laundering about $9B in cartel drug money, and nobody goes to jail. I'm still trying to process that one. That's like 5 weeks of operating profit -- whack whack -- nice hand slap. Go with HSBC. Too big to fail, too big to jail. You're money will be in good hands.

Actually HSBC shares at not bad a price to hold if one wants a decent dividend stock for one's portfolio, although I am tempted to wait for a drop below 600. Might miss the bounce though.

[JohnP1752]

Its safer than Greece

[makkam]

I wouldn't keep any more than the obligatory bare minimum requirement eg 400k thb retirement.

Thailand is riddled with bagmen and shysters and the nation as a whole regards 'farang' to be there to be ripped off with impunity

I wouldn't trust them with the contents of my rubbish bin

[Loles]

yes

[Shiver]

The Thai govt's deposit insurance protection is currently 50 million baht, slated to fall to 25 million baht in Aug. 2015 and then to 1 million ($31,000+) baht in Aug. 2016. That's per account holder per bank, regardless of the number of branches involved.

If they stick to that plan and schedule, anyone ought to carefully consider whether they'd want to keep more than $31,000 U.S. (or its equivalent in other currencies) with any single Thai banking company.

http://www.dpa.or.th/ewt_news.php?nid=320&filename=index___EN

That's a bit scary. Almost sounds like they're planning the collapse.

I've been wondering also whether it would be safe to hold money in Thailand. I can bring it in easily enough, but not sure if I'd get it out of the country if I chose or was asked to leave. My current thinking is to keep enough here for any unexpected events, and keep the rest elsewhere... or convert any excess to gold and hide it under the proverbial pillow.

I haven't formed a proper opinion on it yet, hence the reason this thread caught my attention.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Shiver, I don't think there's anything going on that would portend the collapse of the Thai banking system, at least not anymore than anywhere else.

As for the deposit insurance limit, as noted above, the government had planned to reduce it to 1 million baht per bank previously, and then postponed that change. Whether they'll do that again when 2016 arrives is anyone's guess.

But really, you're now raising a broader question, and that is: once you bring a large amount of money into Thailand, it's not necessarily so easy to get it back out of the country again.

But beyond that general notion, I'm not any expert on those details, because I've never believed in bringing in any more into Thailand than was necessary for my month to month living expenses.

[deepcell]

you can always give it to your gf.or wifes family for safe keeping.

mai pen rai! dee mak na krap!

[fletchsmile]

The recently published Financial Stability Report 2013 (dated Feb 2014), published by BOT gives some useful info to help people better understand the financial system.

Shame more posters don't access BOT's website and read this sort of stuff before posting

http://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialInstitutions/New_Publications/KeyDevFI/FSR/Documents/FSR2013.pdf

http://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialInstitutions/New_Publications/KeyDevFI/FSR/Pages/FSR.aspx

The annual supervision report also gives a flavour of things. The last one is a bit old now, but for someone who is starting from scratch gives a reasonable starting point to build further knowledge on

http://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialInstitutions/New_Publications/KeyDevFI/Supervision/Documents/Supervision2012_Eng_Final.pdf

http://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialInstitutions/New_Publications/KeyDevFI/Supervision/Pages/supervision2012.aspx

Cheers

Fletch