Which banks are good?

[BillyB]

What do you suggest is the most useful day-to-day tool for Joe Public to monitor stress within the Spanish economy? CDS px's, 10-year yields?

I use www.tradingeconomics.com for a quick scan of overall figures. Also keep an eye on Bbg, CNBC, Reuters etc. Market commentary is generally a good indicator.

10 year notes are always a good place to start to find the general benchmark / sentiment. The problem I have with CDS (they should in theory be a good measure) but given they are mostly OTC it's difficult to find transparency because the large banks are so dominant in the pricing, and are usually acting in their own interests that it can drive prices to artificial levels.

With Spain, I haven't dug really deep so far but would like to. I'd be looking closely at the unemployment rate which is very high. I would also keep an eye on inflation which is creeping up. And also be getting concerned with interest rate increases and also increased capital requirements for the banks. Budget deficit is running around -10% which is worrying. How do you generate more revenue from the unemployed? And do companies get squeezed more in taxation to compensate when growth is already quite worryingly low. How do you stimulate recovery in that scenario?

I'd also be very keen to see the financial statements of some of the Spanish banks to see what they are holding in terms of bad debt and how they plan to play the balancing act of increasing capital requirements, attracting fresh inflows and return on capital without taking unnecessary risk, managing write downs and without asking for help.

The next 3 months should be interesting!!

[JR8]

Thanks BB,

Interesting and useful tips!

[aster]

For that reason I'm contemplating opening a DBS account!!

Good choice in a general sense, but you'll quickly see that lines to DBS ATMs can be ridiculous at times, and lines for counter support are generally ridiculous all the time (cannot remember ever waiting under 30 mins).

Apart from that, they are a decent bank to deal with.

[BillyB]

For that reason I'm contemplating opening a DBS account!!

Good choice in a general sense, but you'll quickly see that lines to DBS ATMs can be ridiculous at times, and lines for counter support are generally ridiculous all the time (cannot remember ever waiting under 30 mins).

Apart from that, they are a decent bank to deal with.

Which ATM's can you use with them? I'm going to open something today - a toss up between OCBC, DBS and UOB. I'm not fussed about spending rewards etc, all I want the account for is to keep some cash in for access. So the internet banking ease of use is important for transfers and so to is cash machine numbers. I've heard UOB can only use UOB machines? And how long and if applicable how much do interbank transfers cost in SG?

P.S. You're not getting a rise out of me on the British Anti-cuts post!

[aster]

DBS and POSB are the same bank, so you can use both ATMs.

The last time I checked UOB and OCBC shared their ATM network, so if that is still the case then they will give you the best options here.

I like DBS' internet banking, but I don't think I've had any major issues with the UOB or OCBC sites. The OCBC one look like it just needs a bit of a layout overhaul, but it's got tons of features there and if I played around with it more often I'd probably feel comfortable with everything.

For the sake of simplicity I'd say DBS, but for regular transfers they should all be pretty much the same. Not sure about costs though.

I guess it all boils down to whether transfers and ATM access are most important to you. If you are going to take funds out during peak times then DBS will be a pain, simply because of the massive amounts of people who bank with them.

If you do go with UOB or OCBC, I would recommend their main branches (Boat Quay area). OCBC probably provides the best account opening experience I've seen, everything seems to make sense there, no silly things to fill in. It's almost like a 5-star experience in the Shangri-La compared to other banks/branches.

But then they are the smallest of the three (and how rare is it for one of us expats to be with them? ) so they seem to place the most emphasis on how they handle their clients. And their ATMs are everywhere where I need them to be (even without resorting to UOB's network).

[ecureilx]

Which ATM's can you use with them? I'm going to open something today - a toss up between OCBC, DBS and UOB. I'm not fussed about spending rewards etc, all I want the account for is to keep some cash in for access. So the internet banking ease of use is important for transfers and so to is cash machine numbers. I've heard UOB can only use UOB machines? And how long and if applicable how much do interbank transfers cost in SG?

P.S. You're not getting a rise out of me on the British Anti-cuts post!

The long queue story for DBS ATM is a bit of a bull, except on salary days, and except in OT

And DBS has been busy adding more ATMs per location, so in a lot of places, you have a bank of 6 ATMs or more ..

As for UOB - you can withdraw money from OCBC ATMs, and the charge is 10 cents per transaction, if I remember correctly ..

[Brah]

Some good info on the banks themselves.

Any experiences with the credit cards linked to them?

Seems to be quite a racket here in terms of the different benefits they have. Or don't have.

[aster]

Some good info on the banks themselves.

Any experiences with the credit cards linked to them?

Seems to be quite a racket here in terms of the different benefits they have. Or don't have.

Well, it depends on whether you're looking for airline miles or say special offers in restaurants/shops. For the latter it's probably best to have a few local accounts, but only use 1-2 of them regularly for salary credit/investments, which is pretty much what I do.

DBS and UOB are probably best for restaurant/shop offers, though OCBC and Citi can also come in handy. As for airline miles, the best card is offered by DBS (Altitude AMEX), though Citi has a good card only for supermarket/dept. store spend and Maybank is good for overseas use (double miles straight away on overseas spend).

[aster]

The long queue story for DBS ATM is a bit of a bull, except on salary days, and except in OT

I got out of the Orchard MRT about 7-ish this evening and there are a handful of ATMs in the vicinity. Including the person using the ATM, the line was as follows:

OCBC - 0
UOB - 1
Citi - 1
DBS - 11

Go figure...

I decide to walk from ION to Takashimaya underground (via Wisma) due to the weather, first thing I see while still in ION is an OCBC... branch. Moving onto Wisma I see an OSBC ATM, moving onto Ngee Ann City I see another OCBC ATM. In terms of branches and ATMs, I think they would be #1 in my eyes.

As for DBS, they don't even have a branch anywhere along the Orchard tract. There's only a small POSB branch somewhere on the top level of Ngee Ann City, that's it.

[JR8]

The long queue story for DBS ATM is a bit of a bull, except on salary days, and except in OT

I got out of the Orchard MRT about 7-ish this evening and there are a handful of ATMs in the vicinity. Including the person using the ATM, the line was as follows:

OCBC - 0
UOB - 1
Citi - 1
DBS - 11

Go figure...

I decide to walk from ION to Takashimaya underground (via Wisma) due to the weather, first thing I see while still in ION is an OCBC... branch. Moving onto Wisma I see an OSBC ATM, moving onto Ngee Ann City I see another OCBC ATM. In terms of branches and ATMs, I think they would be #1 in my eyes.

As for DBS, they don't even have a branch anywhere along the Orchard tract. There's only a small POSB branch somewhere on the top level of Ngee Ann City, that's it.

There's a POSB in Centrepoint, ground floor

[ecureilx]

I got out of the Orchard MRT about 7-ish this evening and there are a handful of ATMs in the vicinity. Including the person using the ATM, the line was as follows:

OCBC - 0
UOB - 1
Citi - 1
DBS - 11

Go figure...

I decide to walk from ION to Takashimaya underground (via Wisma) due to the weather, first thing I see while still in ION is an OCBC... branch. Moving onto Wisma I see an OSBC ATM, moving onto Ngee Ann City I see another OCBC ATM. In terms of branches and ATMs, I think they would be #1 in my eyes.

As for DBS, they don't even have a branch anywhere along the Orchard tract. There's only a small POSB branch somewhere on the top level of Ngee Ann City, that's it.

Not sure which direction you headed towards, but outside marriot, there is 3 DBS atms, then the underpas towards Shaw, 1, outside Tangs exit - Basement, then 1 outside Isetan .. and Lucky Plaza .. (and almost all DBS atms now are not in single, they are in banks of two or more ..

if you think OCBC is # 1 - good

If you lived here long enough, you would know, DBS/POSB has ATMS in places, that even a sane man would fear to tread, and even in almost every army camp and sundry ... not sure of the numbers, but DBS/POSB has about 2 or more atms per every OCBC.. but then again.. since you cant' seem to locate the DBS/POSB atms ...

So much so, long term residents will know when you get into a cab and tell the driver to stop by an ATM, it will be 'nearest POSB is .. ' the driver will not even bother to ask if you are on POSB/DBS or otherwise ...

For some trivia, previously, OCBC, DBS, UOB and OUB were under one network, and POSB was on it's own.

When DBS took over POSB, they inherited 1000 plus atms vs few hundred of the other combined bank atms, and DBS broke up with the rest, and the new DBS/POSB network was created ....

[ecureilx]

There's a POSB in Centrepoint, ground floor

And a delayed reaction: there are 4 DBS atms in Taka, and 2 in Wisma ....

Maybe our hero was colour blind or took the path where only OCBC Atms were visible

[Brah]

On one hand, I guess I don't know what I might be missing by way of benefits, hence the OP; on the other hand, I know I want better F&B discounts than I get with my Taka DBS Visa.

So far it's been pretty useless except for points from things spent at Taka, which I don't do so much.

Oh and there's also a DBS just left of Wheelock, if it's still there....

DBS was touted to have the most ATMs, no idea if this was or is still true. I usually don't have trouble finding one.

But agree, having multiple cards, as long as it's not too many and one doesn't use them too much, may be the best way to go to max on benefits.

Some good info on the banks themselves.

Any experiences with the credit cards linked to them?

Seems to be quite a racket here in terms of the different benefits they have. Or don't have.

Well, it depends on whether you're looking for airline miles or say special offers in restaurants/shops. For the latter it's probably best to have a few local accounts, but only use 1-2 of them regularly for salary credit/investments, which is pretty much what I do.

DBS and UOB are probably best for restaurant/shop offers, though OCBC and Citi can also come in handy. As for airline miles, the best card is offered by DBS (Altitude AMEX), though Citi has a good card only for supermarket/dept. store spend and Maybank is good for overseas use (double miles straight away on overseas spend).

[ksl]

if you are referring to credit card booking failing, that's because Payment gateway merchants controlling the cards use, based on regions, to avoid card fraud ..

No i wasn't referring to that but that just adds on top of the list of my own problems, mostly relating to debit cards and atm cards.

The banks ATM's appear to have reduced the daily limit to $200 except POSB which is $300, do you know of any higher payouts. It used to be $500 a couple of years ago with debit cards

[JR8]

I've had no probs withdrawing $1k at a time from my StanChart a/c...