My trip to the bank to get a term deposit. Lost cause. Does anyone know what different banks are pay

[elgordo38]

I had just wired some money into my account at Bangkok Bank. As I already had a term deposit there I was looking to diversify because of the government deposit insurance which limits coverage to 1 million baht. At this point my question number 1 is if BKK Bank went broke the whole of Thailand would go under and the government would be unable to insure it all anyways would they? I then took the million in cash down the hallway to another bank which I will leave unnamed. I read the sign on the door saying they are paying 1.65% but I needed a place to store my money so in I went. They informed me that the term would be 8 months which I did not like but could live with as it would come due right after my trip to immigration. Then we started the whole grueling routine. Passport proof of address? Oopps sorry forgot that never needed it at BKK bank. Home address in home country (another new one) long double backed questionaire for IRS to keep track of Americans money. I was not American but they said fill it out anyways. Well we are at the end and they give my my deposit certificate which I commenced to read and I said "Hold er Newt" this reads only 1.45% the door says 1.65% and then she calmly explains that that rate is for 50 million baht and up deposit well sir my jaw dropped. Yes it was all there in Thai. IConsidering the government is only covering 1 million baht what ? would deposit this amount of money in this bank? I calmly told the young lady to rip up the agreement and give me a cashiers check for my million baht and I am out of here. I kept looking around for the Candid Cameraman. So brothers and sisters if anyone can tell me what rates are for 4,5,7 month term deposits are I would sincerely appreciate it. Save me a lot of legwork. Any rates in the archives are undoubtedly outdated.

[niccodemi]

You can try Mae tai dai saving account at Krungsri bank. Last time I checked it was still paying 1.75% (annual) and you can withdraw money twice per month without fees. Interest is paid monthly.

[Suradit69]

if BKK Bank went broke the whole of Thailand would go under and the government would be unable to insure it all anyways would they?

A bank going "broke" is a pretty meaningless term. As for banks being too big to fail, that tends to be more an American or European phenomena. The solution in those places has simply been to bury the banks and/or to print more money by adding more debt that will never be paid back. Contrary to the expectations of many, both America and Europe continue to muddle through, although I am glad I'm unlikely to be around when the debt implosions occurs. More problematic in the short term will probably be when the Chinese banks have to account for all their non-performing loans.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Suradit69

[BobTH]

Look here.

https://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/financialmarkets/interestrate/_layouts/application/interest_rate/IN_Rate.aspx

[Pib]

Agree with niccodemi...consider a Kurngsri Mee Tae Dai account. You can withdraw funds anytime without any interest penalty like a fixed account, but if you withdraw more than twice a month there is a Bt50 (fifty) fee per 3d and up withdrawal that month. A half dozen or so debit cards you can get with the account...including those that are kinda pricey which include insurance. I got the one with an no annual fee but you must take SMS service at Bt19/month which adds up tgo Bt228/year but I like the SMS service since it sends you immediately an SMS of any deposits or withdrawals you make. Full ibanking access also...transfer money in and out at will. No 15% withholding tax like in a fixed account unless you exceed Bt20K gross interest per year.

I too have had Bangkok Bank fixed accounts for several years but late last year when my latest fixed account matured Bangkok Bank didn't have anything that interested me since interest rates have dropped so much at all Thai banks. About the best they had a the time was a 10 month fixed account paying around 1.7%. Heck, since I had already had Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying more than that I didn't open another Bangkok Bank fixed account and moved the money to my Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying approx 1.8% at the time for the amount I had in it. But as of 11 Dec 15 it's paying 1.7% amount between 100K and 10M baht (see below cut and paste I grab from the Krungsri interest rate sheet a few minutes ago).

Unless you are trying to squeak every possible stang out of your savings account even when withdrawal/interest penalties may be included in getting those extra stang, a Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account pays basically the same rate (or more) as many fixed accounts without the restrictions of a fixed account. I'm also a U.S. person...not an issue with Krungsri...just fill out their FATCA related questionnaire and IRS W-9 form...easy...took an extra 5 minutes.

[elgordo38]

if BKK Bank went broke the whole of Thailand would go under and the government would be unable to insure it all anyways would they?

A bank going "broke" is a pretty meaningless term. As for banks being too big to fail, that tends to be more an American or European phenomena. The solution in those places has simply been to bury the banks and/or to print more money by adding more debt that will never be paid back. Contrary to the expectations of many, both America and Europe continue to muddle through, although I am glad I'm unlikely to be around when the debt implosions occurs. More problematic in the short term will probably be when the Chinese banks have to account for all their non-performing loans.

Yes the chickens will come home to roost when the Chinese banks fail to account for their non performing loans.

[elgordo38]

Look here.

https://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/financialmarkets/interestrate/_layouts/application/interest_rate/IN_Rate.aspx

Thanks for the chart. Some of the figures are misleading. BBK is 1.5% for 5 months and Siam bank was 1.45% for 8 months. Rates seem more regional than national in cases.

[elgordo38]

Agree with niccodemi...consider a Kurngsri Mee Tae Dai account. You can withdraw funds anytime without any interest penalty like a fixed account, but if you withdraw more than twice a month there is a Bt50 (fifty) fee per 3d and up withdrawal that month. A half dozen or so debit cards you can get with the account...including those that are kinda pricey which include insurance. I got the one with an no annual fee but you must take SMS service at Bt19/month which adds up tgo Bt228/year but I like the SMS service since it sends you immediately an SMS of any deposits or withdrawals you make. Full ibanking access also...transfer money in and out at will. No 15% withholding tax like in a fixed account unless you exceed Bt20K gross interest per year.

I too have had Bangkok Bank fixed accounts for several years but late last year when my latest fixed account matured Bangkok Bank didn't have anything that interested me since interest rates have dropped so much at all Thai banks. About the best they had a the time was a 10 month fixed account paying around 1.7%. Heck, since I had already had Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying more than that I didn't open another Bangkok Bank fixed account and moved the money to my Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying approx 1.8% at the time for the amount I had in it. But as of 11 Dec 15 it's paying 1.7% amount between 100K and 10M baht (see below cut and paste I grab from the Krungsri interest rate sheet a few minutes ago).

Capture.JPG

Unless you are trying to squeak every possible stang out of your savings account even when withdrawal/interest penalties may be included in getting those extra stang, a Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account pays basically the same rate (or more) as many fixed accounts without the restrictions of a fixed account. I'm also a U.S. person...not an issue with Krungsri...just fill out their FATCA related questionnaire and IRS W-9 form...easy...took an extra 5 minutes.

Thanks for your in depth answer. Much appreciated. Looks like the best game in town.

[JMWPACIFIC]

Bangkok Bank has plan not generally advertised although I found it on the website. It's a 3 year 3% p.a. Ministry of Finance Bond administered by BBL and you get a special savings account book. It's available to Thai Citizens and permanent residents. Maximum deposit is 2,000,000 Baht. I got it at the 2nd Road office.

The 3 year period runs from when it first became available which was Oct. 31 I believe. The Bond will be available until 2/29/2016.

[chiang mai]

Be aware that MoF Bonds are for Thai nationals/perm. residents as stated, NOT for visa holders.

OP: you can find a couple of half way reasonable deals around, TMB has a 1.9% account, if you have a work permit or a tabien bahn. CIMB has similar.

Edited January 25, 2016 by chiang mai

[bkmbkk]

3 month ago SCB offered me 2% for 6 month deposit.

After 6 ,month the account is paid out and you can start over.

I was not able to put money in at the time, as I was in the Country on 30 days on arrival (no visa).

[Estrada]

Bangkok Bank has plan not generally advertised although I found it on the website. It's a 3 year 3% p.a. Ministry of Finance Bond administered by BBL and you get a special savings account book. It's available to Thai Citizens and permanent residents. Maximum deposit is 2,000,000 Baht. I got it at the 2nd Road office.

The 3 year period runs from when it first became available which was Oct. 31 I believe. The Bond will be available until 2/29/2016.

Not yet acceptable by immigration for renewing a retirement permit to stay. Only Savings or Time Deposit accounts.

[ezzra]

This is another way saving money with the banks, Krung Sri bank has offered my Thai lady friend a life

insurance policy minimum of 5 years bearing 7-8% in return as long as you're under 65 I think applicable

to expat as well, worth checking it out, the live insurance will not pay much in case of life of limb lost, but the interests

payable on the deposit is the best around...

[Sooo Upto Me]

You can try Mae tai dai saving account at Krungsri bank. Last time I checked it was still paying 1.75% (annual) and you can withdraw money twice per month without fees. Interest is paid monthly.

Yes I also hav Krungsri Bank. Still same rates paid monthly.

[Henryford]

Be aware that MoF Bonds are for Thai nationals/perm. residents as stated, NOT for visa holders.

OP: you can find a couple of half way reasonable deals around, TMB has a 1.9% account, if you have a work permit or a tabien bahn. CIMB has similar.

I opened a TMB 1.9% account without a work permit or TB. Seems to operate like the Krungsri account, no fixed term with withdrawals when you want (but with loss of interest).

[RBOP]

You still have some time for deposit protection. As long as you stick with the big banks and watch their credit rating your money is safe. BBL, Kasakorn and SCB are amongst the biggest and safest.

Coverage of insured deposits

The Coverage of insured deposits according to The Royal Decree on an extension of deposit coverage, is as follows:

Period

Coverage

11 Aug 2012 – 10 Aug 2015

Baht 50 million

11 Aug 2015 – 10 Aug 2016

Baht 25 million

11 Aug 2016 – Onwards

Baht 1 million

Deposits exceeding the coverage amount could be claimed from the liquidation process.

[dotpoom]

The TMB kept hounding me to take one out, I eventually seen the sense in it and went for it @ 2%, BKK were only offering 1.5% I think it was. Had no trouble at all opening it, they nearly bit my hand off to get me to do it.

[vaultdweller0013]

This is another way saving money with the banks, Krung Sri bank has offered my Thai lady friend a life

insurance policy minimum of 5 years bearing 7-8% in return as long as you're under 65 I think applicable

to expat as well, worth checking it out, the live insurance will not pay much in case of life of limb lost, but the interests

payable on the deposit is the best around...

Be cautious with the life insurance products like this. I have looked into a few that have advertised high interest rates, but it all ended up being artifacts of some interesting accounting, with the actual return being pretty much the same as a term deposit.

[recycler]

Why keep so much money in Thailand?

Read news and analysis, political stability, economic outlook, foreign investment, etc, etc...

Bring in as much as you need and keep your savings in more stable currencies and countries with higher guarantees!

[AlQaholic]

I don't get it, you'r ready to lock your moneys away for 8 months for a lousy 16500 Baht (1.65%)? why even bother? You would make more money investing a trickle of that money in a hot dog stand and sell hot dogs on walking street in Pattaya, even at low season.

[vukovar77]

Be very,very vigilant and careful about insurance contracts and high yield promise !!!

Mostly it is not truth at all!!!

[champken]

Agree with niccodemi...consider a Kurngsri Mee Tae Dai account. You can withdraw funds anytime without any interest penalty like a fixed account, but if you withdraw more than twice a month there is a Bt50 (fifty) fee per 3d and up withdrawal that month. A half dozen or so debit cards you can get with the account...including those that are kinda pricey which include insurance. I got the one with an no annual fee but you must take SMS service at Bt19/month which adds up tgo Bt228/year but I like the SMS service since it sends you immediately an SMS of any deposits or withdrawals you make. Full ibanking access also...transfer money in and out at will. No 15% withholding tax like in a fixed account unless you exceed Bt20K gross interest per year.

I too have had Bangkok Bank fixed accounts for several years but late last year when my latest fixed account matured Bangkok Bank didn't have anything that interested me since interest rates have dropped so much at all Thai banks. About the best they had a the time was a 10 month fixed account paying around 1.7%. Heck, since I had already had Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying more than that I didn't open another Bangkok Bank fixed account and moved the money to my Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account paying approx 1.8% at the time for the amount I had in it. But as of 11 Dec 15 it's paying 1.7% amount between 100K and 10M baht (see below cut and paste I grab from the Krungsri interest rate sheet a few minutes ago).

Capture.JPG

Unless you are trying to squeak every possible stang out of your savings account even when withdrawal/interest penalties may be included in getting those extra stang, a Krungsri Mee Tai Dai account pays basically the same rate (or more) as many fixed accounts without the restrictions of a fixed account. I'm also a U.S. person...not an issue with Krungsri...just fill out their FATCA related questionnaire and IRS W-9 form...easy...took an extra 5 minutes.

Thanks very much for your informative post. Sounds just what I'm looking for too especially if you can get a card with no annual fee with it.

[bitcoinforever]

do not leave your money in thai banks, do not leave it in the Baht. The Chinese will have to devalue their currency it will be a one off 50% devaluation. the same thing will have here just like the last time in 98 it will be 36.05 next day 38 next day 41 next day 45 or more not a chance to get out. all the other local currencies have taken the hit already,Malaysia 73 year lows,Canada, Australia,South Africa, Brazil all Chinese trading partners thai baht is hanging by a thread. ready to go when China goes---- FDI is off 80% YOY, Japanese have not invested in Thailand last year because Thai Baht is too high compared to yen. If banks fail here? last to get paid will be Farang, if they get paid at all happened last time--- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!!

[elgordo38]

WOW what a lively discussion. Someone stated they deposited money at the TMB without a WP or Black book a retiree basically. anyone else? Another poster claims that the baht is not falling in line with the yen and other local currencies and the last couple days it has strengthened. I also read that the BOT prefers a higher baht. Gold is at a low right now could be a good hedge versus very low interest rates paid in the bank. Anyone care to comment.

Edited January 26, 2016 by elgordo38

[nahkit]

This is another way saving money with the banks, Krung Sri bank has offered my Thai lady friend a life

insurance policy minimum of 5 years bearing 7-8% in return as long as you're under 65 I think applicable

to expat as well, worth checking it out, the live insurance will not pay much in case of life of limb lost, but the interests

payable on the deposit is the best around...

Be cautious with the life insurance products like this. I have looked into a few that have advertised high interest rates, but it all ended up being artifacts of some interesting accounting, with the actual return being pretty much the same as a term deposit.

BBK offered me a similar product a few months back but the high interest rate was only obtainable if you were earning money here and could obtain tax relief. Once you stripped that out the rate dropped considerably but it was still better than just leaving it in a savings account.

[bitcoinforever]

read this and think about Thai banks

not being involve in NPL Non performing loans

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/thai-banks-face-biggest-default-since-97-as-steel-venture-fails

[Henryford]

Why keep so much money in Thailand?

Read news and analysis, political stability, economic outlook, foreign investment, etc, etc...

Bring in as much as you need and keep your savings in more stable currencies and countries with higher guarantees!

Stable currencies - you think the mickey mouse money printing presses in the west are any more stable. Tell the people of Cyrus/Greece about guarantees. European banks will soon be bailing in and helping themselves to your money.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Henryford

[bitcoinforever]

i agree Europe is not the currency to be in, they are getting ready to bail in everyone , Russia is next look at the ruble go to nothing 3 years ago 28 to 1 dollar now 85 to 1 dollar

[fletchsmile]

read this and think about Thai banks

not being involve in NPL Non performing loans

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/thai-banks-face-biggest-default-since-97-as-steel-venture-fails

If you look at the 3 banks affected, you'll see they've taken this in their stride with no major issues. Their capital adequacy has been sufficient to absorb the single biggest corporate default since 1997. Perhaps some mistakes on the credit analysis. However, even then well within the risk capacity of the banks.

A quick look at a summary of the financials for the main Thai banks, such as the 8 in the report below will show you that all 8 were profitable in 2015 even after absorbing this.

http://research.kgieworld.co.th/recom.nsf/0/921C51EF83DD20D247257F4500029F1A/$file/Daily_2016_01_25_e_th.pdf

Yes profits dipped a bit and NPLs rose. To be expected really given where we are in the global economic cycle.

Foreign currency exposure of Thailand and its banks is far lower than peers such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Let's also not forget that the business which collapsed was in the UK, so more a reflection of the UK than Thailand. The Thai banks just financed the Thai parent company's acquisition.

Nothing whatsoever in that article has me worrying my money isn't safe in a Thai bank.

Now if we were to start talking about UK banks, European banks and US banks and all the problems they've faced in the last decade.... and the extent to which their capital adequacy was able to meet those problems.... western government bailouts of their financial sectors, nationalisations, bail-ins etc....

Edited January 26, 2016 by fletchsmile

[bitcoinforever]

The steel the was been manufactured was for the Chinese Market. So it was Chinese exposure not U.K. The wave of defaults will come from Chinese companies that increased the debt loads to unsustainable levels. that steel default is just the tip of the iceberg. that is how it always starts.