Some banks offer higher interest rate to attract new deposits and give a lower interest for existing deposit. A customer can earn the higher interest rate by taking the trouble to withdraw the deposit and re-deposit it with the same bank. If the customer expresses the intention to take this trouble, the bank will usually relent and offer the higher interest rate.
The bank is willing to pay a higher interest rate (compared to the miserably low interest rate that is offered to their existing customers). But they hope that some customers are not aware about the difference, or that they do not wish to take the trouble, or do not know how to take the action. The bank hope to extract the maximum profit from these customers.
I consider this practice to be discriminatory and unfair, and goes against the ethos of fair treatment of customers. Some people say that this type of practice is predatory and dishonest. I believe that it has some of these negative elements. Even if it is not illegal, it is quite wasteful to get customers to go through a lot of hassle to enjoy a more adequate interest rate and cause unproductive work for their own staff.
I hope that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will tell the banks that they (the regulators) frown on type of unproductive and discriminatory practices. I am sure that the banks will heed the message from the regulators.
Tan Kin Lian
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Managing personal risk - importance of savings
I wish to recommend this article to the lay person. It is about managing personal risk and the importance of having savings and getting an adequate yield on the savings. Many life insurance agents will give bad advice to consumers and get them to buy a life insurance policy that gives a poor yield or charges too much for the insurance cover. The agent has a conflict of interest. They can earn a higher commission by selling an expensive policy to the consumer.
Read the relevant FAQs in my website, www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx. Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning (click on iShop at the right panel).
Read the relevant FAQs in my website, www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx. Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning (click on iShop at the right panel).
Cost of term insurance
Dear Mr. Tan,
I just talk to 4 different insurance companies asking for their term insurance. One company try to sell me life insurance when I asked for term and I have to pay 4.5K per year. Even for term insurance, the price quoted is not that cheap comparable to life insurance.
Is it true that Critical illness only can be bought with a Life Insurance with Death Coverage and not as a stand alone policy? This is what an agent told me. Xan I really get a term policy valued at 500K at around 1K plus per annum as reported in the papers?
REPLY
You can buy a stand alone term and a stand alone critical illness cover under the SAF group insurance policy, if you are a reservists. Read this FAQ: http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=116
A term insurance for $500,000 cost about $768 a year. You can buy critical illness separately. But you do not need to insure a large sum. An insurance of $50,000 or $100,000 for critical illness is sufficient, as it is supplemented by term insurance.
Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning and attend the educational talk conducted by FISCA. They are meant to educate consumers to make a better choice.
Read the FAQs in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx to find out why many agents are not giving the proper advice to consumers, due to their conflict of interest.
I just talk to 4 different insurance companies asking for their term insurance. One company try to sell me life insurance when I asked for term and I have to pay 4.5K per year. Even for term insurance, the price quoted is not that cheap comparable to life insurance.
Is it true that Critical illness only can be bought with a Life Insurance with Death Coverage and not as a stand alone policy? This is what an agent told me. Xan I really get a term policy valued at 500K at around 1K plus per annum as reported in the papers?
REPLY
You can buy a stand alone term and a stand alone critical illness cover under the SAF group insurance policy, if you are a reservists. Read this FAQ: http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=116
A term insurance for $500,000 cost about $768 a year. You can buy critical illness separately. But you do not need to insure a large sum. An insurance of $50,000 or $100,000 for critical illness is sufficient, as it is supplemented by term insurance.
Read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning and attend the educational talk conducted by FISCA. They are meant to educate consumers to make a better choice.
Read the FAQs in www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx to find out why many agents are not giving the proper advice to consumers, due to their conflict of interest.
Online courses
Learning in Dorm, Because Class Is on the Web
Online education is finding its way into more colleges,
many of them public institutions facing tight budgets.
many of them public institutions facing tight budgets.
Guiding a child to financial independence
Parents of adult children face all types of challenges, even in the best of times, but the tough labor market for young people can make it even more difficult.
Here are some tips:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/businessspecial5/05LAUNCH.html
Here are some tips:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/businessspecial5/05LAUNCH.html
Measure of economic progress
U.S., China and eating soup with a fork
Are economists the world over using an outdated tool to measure economic progress?
They are widely used to compare standards of living in one country with those in another
but critics say GDP is too narrow to be a realistic indicator.
Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-prize winning American economist, has complained that
world leaders make a fetish out of it and suffer from GDP-obsession.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2010/10/29/u-s-china-and-eating-soup-with-a-fork/
Are economists the world over using an outdated tool to measure economic progress?
They are widely used to compare standards of living in one country with those in another
but critics say GDP is too narrow to be a realistic indicator.
Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-prize winning American economist, has complained that
world leaders make a fetish out of it and suffer from GDP-obsession.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2010/10/29/u-s-china-and-eating-soup-with-a-fork/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)