ANZ customers protected for a year

Customers with Singdollar deposits in a bank being bought out by another lender will continue to enjoy separate protection for one year after the date of acquisition, said the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) yesterday.

The assurance came in response to ANZ customers' concerns about their deposits after the bank sold its Asian wealth and retail business to DBS Bank.

Depositors can include individuals, charities, sole proprietorships, partnerships, companies and unincorporated entities like associations and societies.

SDIC administers the Deposit Insurance Scheme, where a depositor of a member bank or finance firm is automatically insured up to an aggregate of $50,000 for each person depositor per scheme member.

If a customer has insured deposits of $50,000 in the acquiring bank and the one being bought at the point of the acquisition, he will be insured up to $100,000 for a year from that date.

The total protection amount depends on the depositor's balances with the respective scheme members as of the acquisition date. Assume that a depositor, prior to an acquisition, has insured deposits of $60,000 with Bank A and $30,000 with Bank B. After the acquisition, the depositor would be insured up to $80,000 ($50,000 from Bank A + $30,000 from Bank B) with Bank A (the acquiring bank) during the additional one-year cover period.

"The deposit protection limit for these overlapping depositors reverts to a maximum of $50,000 after one year," said SDIC chief executive officer Ooi Sin Teik.

lornatan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 24, 2017.
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