Sg_Review, 17 Oct 2008, Mellanie Hewlitt
Its nice to know that after Hong Kong and Australia initiated guarantee measures, the Singapore PAP Govt has risen to follow in the footsteps and also issue guarantees on deposits in banks licenced by the MAS.
Previously, this was a government that had stoutly implemented a miserly capp SGD25,000/- for such guarantees and also given little support to citizens in these difficult times, apart from raising electricity prices, extending ERP gantries and increasing the salaries of its million dollar ministers.
So it really begets ths question; Why the sudden magnanimous change of heart? Are we see signs of a more caring and humane PAP?
Just so every one is under no false illusions, the latest move by the MAS is not to look after the plight of the average man on the street. As every seasoned banker knows, this was a strategic move to halt the flight of capital to other safe haven countries like Australia.
Countries who implemented such guarantees early can still be credited with having the noble intention to safe-guard the savings of the common folks. However, this is not the case for the PAP Government who was only prodded from its state of lethargy to follow sjuite only to prevent what would have been a migration of billions of dollars of deposits and AUMs (Assets Under Management) of the affluent and rich depositers to other private banking accounts maintained offshore in safe havens.
The plight of the common average joe (who has 20-30k) is of little relevance. But as the good news is that the average depositer and common man still benefits from the policy change notwithstanding the real reasons behind the change.
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