POSB was the people's bank. In the beginning, the bank even supported and promoted school children to save a few dollars by helping them to open savings account in the bank. There was nothing too small to save. A few cents, a few dollars were also money for the bank. The POSB grew and grew with the masses banking and supporting the bank. It was the bank for the people, that stood by the people and for the people.
Then it was absorbed into DBS by a govt decree. It became part of DBS and all the customers and their savings became DBS properties. These helped to propel DBS to what it is today, with the money from the little boys and girls, the Ah Pehs and Ah Mahs, the workers, the cleaners etc etc.
Then things started to change in the late 1970s or early 80s. Some smart alecs did not think the bank should be serving the small savers, the school children and the low down workers with only a few dollars in the bank. It was a chore, a financial burden on the bank to have their accounts. The administrative cost was too high. So, it introduced a $2 monthly fee for accounts with less than $3,000, if I remember correctly. Any account with less than this sum must pay a fee of $2 to the bank or close the account. Ignorant small savers who did not know about this soon had their accounts closed as whatever little money left was used to pay the $2 monthly fees. Many accepted the money 'eaten' by the bank quietly. What to do? This was something new then, when people only thought of getting interests from the bank, not paying the bank to keep money in the bank.
The ungrateful bank was as good as saying no time for you poor boys and girls and the Ah Pehs and Ah Mahs with only a few dollars. That is now history.
Perhaps DBS may want to return POSB back to serve the poor people and return to the days when POSB would not charge a fee on any account holder with less than $3,000 in their bank accounts. Let POSB be the people's bank, to serve the not rich people and let DBS serve the rich people, the millionaires and billionaires.
There is another practical reason for this. There are some retirees, seniors that have no income and barely anything in their bank accounts. But they need a bank account to receive govt handouts like the $600 cost of living Assurance Package. If they leave this sum or the balance in the banks, they would have to pay the monthly $2 fee or $24 annually....
What do you think?
PS. I was one of those who had forgotten about an account with a few hundred dollars (in UOB) that were 'eaten' and only knew about it when I received a letter to inform me that the account was closed.
8 comments:
Not to forget that POSB was paying the highest rate of interest on savings compared to all the other brotherly banks. That all ended when POSB was absorbed by DBS, enabling DBS to grow so fast. Overnight, poor account holders of POSB lost their poor main investment channel.
Not to forget also that most workers have accounts with POSB, dubbed the poor man's bank, which was later used by the majority of workers for crediting their salaries, further enhancing its ability to provide greater source of cheap funds for DBS to lend out and expand overseas. Oops, that includes India, where it was even forced to buy over failing banks.
Actually it all started when our Ministers think they should be paid salary as huge as MNC CEO. When the G become greedy, they start to sell off essential function of G in the name of efficiency as well as outsourcing some G function to private companies. After which they realised that our population is too small to make their (ministers) salary bigger, increase of population is the way to go...followed by all sort of policy to milk the population. Before the 90s we don't need G cdc voucher to ease our cost of living, now we need all sort of scheme to make our life livable. Are we progressing or degressing??
Government deposits money to seniors in banks, banks take money from seniors in their banks' accounts.
Singapore is breeding a 'crutch mentality' like our Northern neighbor. It is easy to foster such a mentality, but difficult or impossible to get rid of it, just like our Northern neighbor now stuck in it.
But such is necessary for the Government to hold on to power. Throwing chicken wings and feathers plus breeding a dependent mindset has its objective. We all know that Singaporeans are ruled by the three 'k's' - 'kiasu', 'kiasi' and 'kia chenghu'.
Seniors who retired in the past do not have to pay taxes. Now they are paying taxes in the form of GST. Actually, paying even more in GST taxes than income taxes, for life and afterlife.
I was a victim too. The bank deducted all my $400 plus money in my account over 20 years, then sent me a letter demanding I pay up as there's no more money to deduct in my account for the $2 account fee, and I'm owing them !
We were screwed when DBS took over POSB. The elderly poor were particularly hard hit with their meagre savings now earning interest rates of 0.05%, which works out to be a miserable 5 cents for one thousand dollars deposited in a savings account. Even beggars refused to accept a dollar coin and asked for more.
过河拆桥
Post a Comment