Government Guarantees All Bank Deposits Expires 31 Dec 2010

[yhendra]

Hi Dennis,

I just opened my files and I found one article from ST which I archived dated 17 Oct 2008.

During that time many governments move to guarantee all bank deposits (100% of money deposited by customer in Savings, FD, Current and SRS accounts)

It mentioned in the article that the guarantee runs till 31 Dec 2010, which left only a few weeks from now.

Should this be a concerned us? What if another financial crisis coming for whatever reason? Will government be able to extend the guarantee?

[jamestai]

Hi Hendra,

This is my personal opinion, Singapore goverment (or rather current ruling party) is pro-bank and most important they try to prevent/deter the money of the super rich and to flow out of Singapore. To the super rich, they need a safe place to park their money so they need to hear from the Singapore goverment to say that they will ensure the safety of their money.

Therefore I see this policy is bias to protect the money of the super rich. For the poor, the message from the goverment to them is go through the proper process/procedure to apply for welfare, meet your MP and answer truthfully to the questions that the social worker ask you about your financial situation. Then the welfare committee will have a formal meeting to decide if you fit into their criteria of being poor and need help. If they turn you down, the option is go to the local newspaper and tell them your story, hopefully they publish your story and get sympathy from the public which may donate some money to help the unfortunate one.

For the middle class, try harder to find a job if you lose one. Don't bother about whether the goverment is there to protect your money or not. The goverment will just tell you that they will help you to find a job and then earn the money yourself.

Of course we still need a safe place to park our cash, but putting cash in bank in Singapore earn you almost noting. I think what Singaporean really need is good financial knowledge to grow their hard earn money and protect themselves from the bank, unethical banker or financial advisor and most important don't fall into scam. Don't even hope that our Goverment and MAS is there to protect our money. Look at what happen to Lehman Brother Saga, the only thing that the goverment do for people is they say they will review their policy and make sure the same thing does not happen again. Then they advise the people to seek their own legal advice hopefully can help to get their money back.

Therefore having the right financial knowledge is the only guarantee that we can protect our hard earn money.

James Tai

[yhendra]

Hi James,

You really got the point there!
I agree with your opinions.

Hi Hendra,

This is my personal opinion, Singapore goverment (or rather current ruling party) is pro-bank and most important they try to prevent/deter the money of the super rich and to flow out of Singapore. To the super rich, they need a safe place to park their money so they need to hear from the Singapore goverment to say that they will ensure the safety of their money.

Therefore I see this policy is bias to protect the money of the super rich. For the poor, the message from the goverment to them is go through the proper process/procedure to apply for welfare, meet your MP and answer truthfully to the questions that the social worker ask you about your financial situation. Then the welfare committee will have a formal meeting to decide if you fit into their criteria of being poor and need help. If they turn you down, the option is go to the local newspaper and tell them your story, hopefully they publish your story and get sympathy from the public which may donate some money to help the unfortunate one.

For the middle class, try harder to find a job if you lose one. Don't bother about whether the goverment is there to protect your money or not. The goverment will just tell you that they will help you to find a job and then earn the money yourself.

Of course we still need a safe place to park our cash, but putting cash in bank in Singapore earn you almost noting. I think what Singaporean really need is good financial knowledge to grow their hard earn money and protect themselves from the bank, unethical banker or financial advisor and most important don't fall into scam. Don't even hope that our Goverment and MAS is there to protect our money. Look at what happen to Lehman Brother Saga, the only thing that the goverment do for people is they say they will review their policy and make sure the same thing does not happen again. Then they advise the people to seek their own legal advice hopefully can help to get their money back.

Therefore having the right financial knowledge is the only guarantee that we can protect our hard earn money.

James Tai

[Dennis Ng]

Of course we still need a safe place to park our cash, but putting cash in bank in Singapore earn you almost noting. I think what Singaporean really need is good financial knowledge to grow their hard earn money and protect themselves from the bank, unethical banker or financial advisor and most important don't fall into scam. Don't even hope that our Goverment and MAS is there to protect our money. Look at what happen to Lehman Brother Saga, the only thing that the goverment do for people is they say they will review their policy and make sure the same thing does not happen again. Then they advise the people to seek their own legal advice hopefully can help to get their money back.

Therefore having the right financial knowledge is the only guarantee that we can protect our hard earn money.

James Tai

Hi James,
what you said are what I agree with 100%.

It was financial knowledge that helped me avoid all the scams so far, Sunshine Empire, Profitable Plots, Universal Wine, etc...

It was financial knowledge that helped me avoided investing into Lehman Brothers mini-bonds, which didn't satisfy my rule of upside potential at least twice of downside. In Lehman Brothers' mini-bonds, it was upside capped at 6% while downside risk can be 100%.

It was financial knowledge that helped me reach my first million dollars in year 2008 and my 2nd million dollars in year 2010.

This is why I decided to pass on my knowledge/experience, becos I truly believe that it is possible for us to learn how to Master Our Finances and become financially free.

And I hope that in 5 years' time, we can have 10,000 seminar graduates, reaching out to help educate the general public on basic financial concepts, instead of relying on MAS MoneySense or CPF Board to do their part in public Financial Education.