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Hi all, Just wondering whats the best thing to do or rather what are my options if i have access in OA account and still servicing a HDB bank loan. Theres about enough to pay 24months of installments in my OA(cos my house is dirt cheap so installment is pretty low) Is there any way i can make advanced payments or clear my OA to decrease the total sum? If yes, is that a smart move? What else can i do with this access? Thanks in advanced guys

hmm... Trying to diverse my profile in this versatile mkt. I have some equities, some bond , some pty, some gold.. I was thinking of putting some $$ into FX FD, was intenting to put into AUD.. but was wondering if HKD is good also. Rate given by SC quite attractive now. Any advise from the financial experts in the forum :)

I don't think this question has ever been asked in this forum before. I am wondering how many here have a million cash in the bank now (not CPF) with the house they are living in now (hdb or private) fully paid and with zero debt? Please note that I am not talking about those sitting on paper assets as some bros here will probably say they can liquidate this and that property to have x millions, I am talking about those debtless people with a million cash in the bank now. If you are in this category, it would be interesting to hear what do you plan to do with your cash in the next couple of years?

Better check if you kenna shafted by your legal ah long. http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php/23448-Citibank-is-unilaterllay-rasing-the-spread-on-its-existing-Sibor-loan-customers-!/page2

Anyone in the car industry can help? Without going thru a car dealer or middle man. I know sometimes car middleman is useful. But my father wish to try to do the sales himself, I am helping him because my father says the sales will free up some cash for his Hainan holidays and other future holidays. He just retired early this year. My father is trying to sell away his fully paid Subaru Forester 2008, to one of his friend. There is no loan on the car. The buyer has personally applied for a bank loan. I am not sure what type of documents the bank will issue when the bank loan is approved. I also want to know, when will the bank issue the cheque/funds in my fathers' name or account. Or when will the money be disbursed so that the car ownership can be effected. Anyone works in bank or car dealers who know the steps?

Hi Bro, Any way for better use of our money in the bank that earn so little interest? Pls share your idea to increase our money!!!

Kena shut down by MAS MAS orders BSI Bank to shut down in Singapore POSTED: 24 May 2016 at 12:38 PM UPDATED: 24 May 2016 at 1:15 PM SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Tuesday (May 24) it has ordered the closure of Switzerland’s BSI Bank in Singapore. A notice of intention has been served to the bank to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for “serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank’s operations, and gross misconduct by some of the bank’s staff”. This is the first time since 1984 a merchant bank in Singapore has been ordered to shut down. In 1984 Jardine Fleming (Singapore) was ordered to shut down over serious lapses in its advisory work. BSI Bank has also been fined S$13.3 million for 41 breaches of anti-money laundering regulations. The breaches include a failure to perform enhanced customer due diligence on high-risk accounts, and to monitor for suspicious customer transactions on an ongoing basis. BSI Bank has been operating in Singapore since November 2005, offering private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Switzerland-based BSI SA. “Clients and customers of BSI Bank are assured that the bank is solvent and has assets in excess of its liabilities and commitments. It also has the full support of its parent bank, BSI SA, in Switzerland. MAS is working closely with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the home regulator of BSI SA, to oversee an orderly closure of BSI Bank in Singapore,” MAS said. It added that the Swiss authorities had earlier approved the acquisition of the entire BSI group by Switzerland-based EFG international. “In the interest of the customers of BSI Bank, MAS will allow the transfer of the Singapore subsidiary’s assets and liabilities to the Singapore branch of EFG Bank AG or to the parent entity, BSI SA.” SIX STAFF REFERRED TO PUBLIC PROSECUTOR Six members of the bank’s senior management and staff have been referred to the Public Prosecutor to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences, MAS said. The six are former CEO Hans Peter Brunner, former Deputy CEO Raj Sriram, head of wealth management services Kevin Michael Swampillai, who is currently suspended by the bank, former senior private bankers Yak Yew Chee and Seah Yew Foong, and former wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, who is currently in remand and has been charged for various offences. The Attorney-General’s Chambers said in a statement on Tuesday that further charges against Yeo will be tendered “in due course”. “Insofar as the five other individuals named by the MAS are concerned, the Attorney-General’s Chambers will be working with the Commercial Affairs Department to review the facts before assessing the next appropriate course(s) of action,” it said. THREE INSPECTIONS, MULTIPLE BREACHES In 2011, MAS inspected BSI Bank and found policy and process lapses at the front office and weak enforcement by control functions. These lapses were rectified, MAS said. In 2014, it again inspected the bank and uncovered “serious shortcomings” in its due diligence checks on assets underlying the investment funds structured for the bank’s customers. The bank’s management was ordered to increase scrutiny of its risk management processes and internal controls. A more intrusive third inspection by MAS last year revealed “multiple breaches of anti-money laundering regulations and a pervasive pattern of non-compliance”. The 2015 inspection revealed widespread control failures which led to numerous serious breaches of various anti-money laundering regulations; poor and ineffective oversight by the senior management; unacceptable risk culture, with blatant disregard for compliance and control requirements as well as MAS’ regulations; and numerous acts of gross misconduct by certain staff, MAS said. “Specific regulatory lapses include the processing of multiple unusual transactions which were essentially pass-through trades often without economic substance. Approvals of such transactions were based purely on faith of client representations despite deficient documentation and concerns raised by the bank’s compliance officers.” Mediacorp News Group ©2015 Mediacorp Pte Ltd

OK, so I guess most people already know how a car loan of 2% HP rate equals to easily over 5% APR over a few years. But for mortgage loans in Singapore, the rate which the bank advertises, is the 'nominal' APR and not the effective APR correct? e.g. I understand most banks use the 'daily rest' method to compound mortgages? (correct me if I am wrong, which banks here use monthly rest?). So for a loan at nominal 5% APR but with daily compounding, it would say work out to about 5.13% effective APR. Am I right to say the APR quoted by the banks here for mortgages is the nominal and not the effective APR? Is there any MAS rules that says we can ask for the effective APR from the banks?

Given Malaysia's political and economical state, many are suggesting to pull out their funds from CIMB. Any view?

Hi all, would like to seek your advice on this case My best friend received a letter Writ of Summons from the lawyer representing the bank. The letter has given him within 8 days for 2 choices Admit the claim or Dispute the claim If he Admit the claim, does he require to pay the amount claimed and costs of $800 to the Plaintiff or his solicitor within 8 days from the date of the letter. Kindly advised. Thanks

Any of our local authories check our credit cards companies and its offer of add-on services ??? ..... Always received calls from banks on their other services offered with the credit card.. Yahoo news: Citi to refund $700 million for deceptive card practices NEW YORK (AP) -- Nine million credit card customers will receive refund checks from Citigroup after U.S. regulators forced the bank to repay $700 million and fined it $70 million for illegal and deceptive practices. The order, coming from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the latest multimillion dollar settlement against the largest credit card issuers for their role in selling "add-on" products to customers, such as credit score monitoring or "rush" processing of payments. Bank of America reached a similar, slightly larger settlement with regulators in 2014 and JPMorgan Chase was fined in 2013. Under an agreement announced Tuesday with the CFPB, Citi will issue refunds to 8.8 million affected consumers who paid for these types of add-on products, and will pay two separate $35 million fines to the CFPB and to the federal bank regulator the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The settlement comes on the five-year anniversary of the creation of the CFPB, which came into existence through the passage of the Dodd-Frank law that overhauled the financial industry following the 2008 financial crisis. "We continue to uncover illegal credit card add-on practices that are costing unknowing consumers millions of dollars," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. "This is the tenth action we've taken against companies in this space for deceiving consumers." Some of the illegal activity by Citi goes back to as early as 2000, the CFPB said, and ended in 2013, and covers a range of products sold by Citi and third-party affiliates. In one allegation, Citi telemarketers were said to have sold consumers identity theft protection services with a 30-day "free" trial, when no such free trial existed; or signed up consumers for an add-on service when it was ambiguous whether the consumer actually said they wanted it. In another situation, Citi sold credit monitoring services when Citi wasn't performing such services at all, or were not actively monitoring a consumer's credit file with credit reporting bureaus. Citi also allegedly misrepresented its customers by charging a $14.95 "expedited" payment fee to customers who made over-the-phone payments and did not tell consumers about no-fee options. Credit card add-on services were a lucrative source of revenue for banks for several years, sold to consumers as ways to protect their credit scores or identities or protect them if they lost their jobs. Banks' marketing of such services largely ended after increased regulatory scrutiny. "Add-on services, for the most part, provide no benefit to consumers and people should be very careful to sign up for them," said Nick Bourke, an expert at the Pew Charitable Trusts specializing in consumer lending issues. While credit card companies have largely ended the practice, Bourke and other consumer financial advocates say they are still sold by some high-cost installment loan providers or payday lenders. In a statement, Citi said it stopped the practices and has been issuing statement credits since 2013 to the affected customers. For the customer who no longer has an account at Citi, a check will be mailed. more stories, link : https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/citi-refund-700-million-deceptive-151407945.html

The embattled co-chief executives of Deutsche Bank AG announced their resignations on Sunday, an abrupt move that throws into question the future direction of one of the world’s largest banks. Anshu Jain, a longtime investment-banking executive, plans to step down at the end of June. The other co-CEO, Jürgen Fitschen, plans to leave after Deutsche Bank’s annual shareholder meeting next May. They will be replaced by John Cryan, a former UBS AG finance chief. The joint resignations follow a series of financial missteps and regulatory penalties at the giant Frankfurt-headquartered bank. In recent weeks, the pressure has intensified, with an increasing number of shareholders and employees losing confidence in the bank’s performance and the management team’s turnaround plans. People familiar with Mr. Jain’s thinking said the decision to resign came together over the past few weeks. As Deutsche Bank reviewed its strategic and financial goals for the next five years, Mr. Jain concluded this was the right time to exit. Mr. Jain’s decision was driven largely by criticism from labor unions and media in Germany over the bank’s decision to cut thousands of jobs and close many branches, one person said. Mr. Jain felt his inability to speak fluent German, a barrier to engaging shareholders at the bank’s annual meeting, was a major obstacle. He viewed himself as a lightning rod to critics and, increasingly, a distraction that interfered with the bank’s ability to thrive. Adding to the pressure on the co-CEOs, Mr. Fitschen, 66 years old, is on trial in Germany in connection with the collapse of the Kirch media empire in 2002. He is accused of giving false testimony in a long-running legal battle with heirs of the late media mogul Leo Kirch. Mr. Fitschen has denied the charges. In phone calls and in-person meetings in recent weeks, Mr. Jain discussed his concerns with Mr. Fitschen, who decided to follow suit in resigning. The pair then informed Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner, who accepted the resignations after several discussions. Mr. Achleitner, who as far back as a year ago started scouting for successors to Mr. Jain, quickly tapped Mr. Cryan, a fluent German speaker, as the replacement. Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board met on Sunday afternoon to complete the announcement and to formally name Mr. Cryan. After leaving UBS in 2011, Mr. Cryan, 54 years old, worked as a senior executive at Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. and joined Deutsche Bank’s board. Messrs. Jain and Fitschen’s “decision to step down early demonstrates impressively their attitude of putting the bank’s interests ahead of their own,” Mr. Achleitner said Sunday. The sudden resignations, first reported Sunday by The Wall Street Journal, introduce the possibility of major change at Deutsche Bank. In April, Messrs. Jain and Fitschen took their latest stab at an overhaul strategy to streamline the at-times unwieldy bank and boost its profitability. But to the disappointment of some shareholders, they stopped short of a radical plan to break up Deutsche Bank’s investment-banking and retail-lending operations into separate companies. The frustration culminated at the bank’s annual meeting last month, when only 61% of shareholders approved of the bank’s strategic plan. Although the vote was nonbinding, the record-low approval was a slap in the face to the co-CEOs. The bank’s Frankfurt-listed shares, which closed Friday at €27.62 ($30.70), are essentially unchanged from June 2012, when Messrs. Jain and Fitschen became co-CEOs. Now, the question is whether the arrival of a new CEO will be a harbinger of major change. Messrs. Achleitner and Cryan, as members of Deutsche Bank’s board, have endorsed the current strategy. On the other hand, incoming CEOs tend to spend their first months conducting reviews and trying to put their stamp on the institution. Moreover, some Deutsche Bank shareholders are agitating for additional changes, including more aggressive cost-cutting, as well as breaking up the bank into smaller, more manageable pieces. “This is a first step in a longer process of cultural change that’s needed,” said Saker Nusseibeh, CEO of Hermes Investment Management, which has criticized the current strategy. Messrs. Jain and Fitschen are the latest in a series of top European bank chiefs to head for the exits. Earlier this year, Standard Chartered PLC CEO Peter Sandsstepped down under pressure, followed by Credit Suisse Group AG’s longtime CEO, Brady Dougan. The departures reflect, in part, growing worries among bank regulators and investors over the feasibility of successfully managing sprawling global banks. Mr. Jain is one of the world’s highest-profile bank executives. The 52-year-old Indian native, who was educated in the U.S. and joined Deutsche Bank in 1995, helped build its London-headquartered investment bank into a global powerhouse. But the British citizen struggled to win acceptance in parts of Germany’s tightknit financial and political communities. Mr. Jain spent months traveling the country and taking German-language lessons, something he never mastered. He cultivated relationships with senior politicians in Berlin. Since taking over from previous CEO Josef Ackermann, Messrs. Jain and Fitschen have bounced from one crisis to the next. Many of the problems emanated from the investment-banking unit Mr. Jain previously ran. The bank repeatedly fell short of its own and Wall Street’s profit forecasts. The executives said the bank had plenty of capital, only to do an about-face and go to shareholders for more funds, first in 2013 and then again last year. In April, the bank was forced to pay about $2.5 billion and to plead guilty to resolve accusations that its traders tried to rig benchmark interest rates, including the London interbank offered rate, or Libor; regulators blasted the bank for misplacing or destroying evidence and not cooperating sufficiently with investigators. In late May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined Deutsche Bank $55 million for essentially hiding losses during the financial crisis. And the bank in recent weeks has said it was investigating allegations that its Russian unit was involved in money laundering, a revelation that knocked the bank’s stock price last week. Mr. Jain was also rocked by the suicide in January 2014 of one of his long-serving deputies. In an interview with the Journal last month, Mr. Achleitner stopped short of voicing unconditional support for the co-CEOs. Asked what he thought about some investors’ desire for a new team, he replied: “People are entitled to their opinion.” Among the warning signs for Mr. Jain was an open letter sent to Deutsche Bank employees last month. Titled “Wind of Change? Wind of Jain,” the letter from labor-union representatives demanded Mr. Jain’s ouster. In an indication of eroding support for management, the letter resonated not just with rank-and-file employees who opposed the planned layoffs and branch closures, but also with some senior executives, said people familiar with the matter. Mr. Jain’s strongest base of support has long been the investment bank, with thousands of employees in London, New York and elsewhere. But the bank’s sinking stock price and the sense of strategic drift among some investment-banking employees has undercut that support. At a London “town hall” meeting in late April, Mr. Jain tried to buck up morale by telling investment-banking employees that he felt the division’s pain because he personally has been under fire. Afterward, some executives lamented Mr. Jain’s “no-strategy approach,” one attendee said. Some clients also worried about the lack of strategic clarity. Several major asset managers told their Deutsche Bank managers the uncertainty made them reluctant to do business with the bank, said people familiar with the matter. Only a few weeks ago, the bank’s supervisory board handed additional powers to Mr. Jain: responsibility for the implementation of a €3.5 billion cost-cutting program. That was widely interpreted as a vote of confidence by the board. And Messrs. Jain and Fitschen told a German publication in mid-May that they wouldn’t step down, pledging instead to take responsibility for the bank’s misconduct by trying to fix its cultural shortcomings. Last week in New York, Mr. Jain reiterated his faith in the bank’s business model. By then, he had decided to leave, said a person familiar with his thinking.

All that glitters is not Gold From young, this I have been told But what is this in my hand? Just a yellow piece of hardened sand? No, no, this is Gold 7kg or 16lbs, my hand can hold Bank of England, yeah Angle Land Oh what a treat, this is grand! https://youtu.be/NZmcVB7zN7A Bank of England Museum Gold Bar Adventure

Funny place to ask this... a car forum... but anyway, if i want to purchase something online, and the vendor requests that payments be made only through "TT bank wire transfer", how do i go about doing this? Clueless... thanks!

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/05/canadians-sued-the-bank-of-canada-won-mainstream-media-government-blacks-out-story/ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40Jz0LPQAQY This is fierce man.

Oh boy, such thing can have a following....... http://www.discuss.com.sg/showthread.php/14341-Lucky-Timing-to-deposit-money-into-bank

dear MCF, can anyone advise which is a good business banking account to begin with?

FATCA = Foreign Tax Account Tax Compliance Act I just opened a POSBKids account for my newborn (jointly with myself as the parent) ... and also sent them a copy of the birth cert and they approved the account. then last night I received a letter from DBS with a form asking me to declare that we are non US nationals due to the above agreement signed by SG and US govts. is it that all new accounts in SG must do this self declaration ?? my newborn only got SG birthcert ... where to find non-US passport or identity card to submit ?? and when I opened my DBS account 30 years ago, I am very sure I submitted my Pink IC to them for them to photocopy. any bank staff here can advise if this is just part and parcel of opening a new bank account now ? things getting more and more complicated ....

Will bank give out loan of let's say 80k to be fully return in 9yrs time. Roughly hw much will the interest b? Thanks in advance

can consider switching over now since early bird promotion is only valid till 31 Oct. can get 6-month bonus interest of 1% p.a. on top of the base CDA interest rate. got more info here www.posb.com.sg/cda

www.emmanueldaniel.com/standard-chartered-banks-franchise-slayer/ www.forbes.com/sites/chriswright/2014/06/26/is-the-standard-chartered-model-broken/

Hi all, anyone know which financing firm do provide financing for COE renewal ? What;s the interest rate like and installment tenure ? Thanks.

Barclays staff are braced for thousands of job losses as part of a far-reaching strategic review designed to cut costs and revitalise its struggling investment bank. Britain’s third biggest bank is expected to announce the job losses, which could amount to as many 15,000, alongside a radical restructuring focused on its investment banking operations. Antony Jenkins, the bank's chief executive, is expected to announce the closure of business areas that were once among the best performing in the bank, including commodities, emerging market fixed income and parts of its operations in continental Europe and Asia. The 300-year-old bank, which operates in 50 countries and employs 140,000 staff, is expected to announce the creation of a new “bad bank” that will oversee the sell-off of the non-core assets. Even so, some analysts have argued that the overhaul won’t be enough to achieve the bank’s profitability targets. In a note on Wednesday, analysts at Citigroup said Barclays may have to delay its target of an 11.5pc return on equity by a year until 2017.

Wtf! Even online bank know how use bad word!

New York's top financial regulator has sought numerous documents from Credit Suisse Group AG as it ramps up a continuing tax-evasion probe of the Swiss bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. The New York Department of Financial Services sent a subpoena last week to Credit Suisse demanding the bank turn over emails, personnel files, travel records, expenses, hard drives and other materials from its New York office, which the agency regulates, this person said. A spokesman for Credit Suisse said the bank is cooperating fully with the agency's investigation. Credit Suisse has faced a federal probe into whether it aided American clients in helping them hide assets from tax authorities. In February, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report that looked at how Swiss banks, including Credit Suisse, helped customers evade U.S. taxes. Following the release of the report, Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, initiated an investigation of whether the bank helped clients avoid paying state taxes, the person familiar with the matter previously has said. Mr. Lawsky's investigation also is looking at whether Credit Suisse employees made any misrepresentations to his agency, the person said. The bank earlier this month said it was taking a charge of $528 million mainly related to a criminal tax-evasion investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.