Yes. Something like that

but UK interest rates are (quite) pathetic.

i'm only getting a few pences per month as interest for an online saver of mine (which used to boost the best rates amongst its competitor)

Not doing it for interest. Just buying GBP while they're @ 4.9

fair enough.

i have about a few hundred quids there. not sure when i should withdraw it out though

the interest earned cannot outrun the annual inflationary rates

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Apr 1 2010, 08:05 PM

Exchange rate is quite bad now so you'll lose more than inflation rates

LOL. i have been contemplating that like, i reckon since three years ago?

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Apr 1 2010, 08:17 PM

With RM get strengthen, GBP and EUR are dropping.

I think it's not a good investment tool to play with as of now.

if you need it for education, despite it being high or low, you will still need to purchase the said currency

such a great burden on our parents =[

It kind of is a good time to buy GBP and EUR now as it's cheap. Outlook for RM is good for the short-term but not so encouraging for the long-term.

I agree on that statement since both of them are cheap. If you have extra money to spare, why not especially if you're planning for education or Europe trip.

For investment of FCFD wise, one needs to be extra careful. Unless you're good forex trader.

I'm leaning towards HSBC now. Any experience with CIMB, Citibank, RHB, EONbank and the rest guys?

I have done a simple comparison between a few banks myself.
I compared among public bank, cimb, uob, hong leong, and ocbc.

among all, hong leong seems to give the highest FCFD rates but UOB forex rates is the best in terms of them selling and buying.
however the difference between UOB and HL forex rate is just 0.3% different for both selling and buying.
From this, I think i will go for HL. But they need u to deposit at least RM8K

More likely trying to sell you investment plans.



Who's really just a salesperson.



Why?

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Added on April 25, 2010, 9:21 pmBe careful of forced conversion.

This post has been edited by wodenus: Apr 25 2010, 09:21 PM

Not really. One of the best things of becoming a mass affluent customer of a bank is to get many bank fees waived. There will always be this and that new investments from time to time and it is up to the individual whether or not he or she wants to invest in it. Some RM will not even call you because they know you are not interested in any investment products.

Are there really that many bank fees?



Ever tried to get an RM to actually do any work? Suppose I were to say, "please write a summary (including recommendations and justifications) of any current and future investment plans and email them to me" do you think that would be done? I think you won't have a personal RM regardless of the amount of money you have, it would be like having your own OC-3 line in a data center wouldn't it?

This post has been edited by wodenus: Apr 25 2010, 10:16 PM

OT : True enough. I recently opted for HSBC Premier and the RM causes additional troubles to me due to wrong info provided. I end up had to make 2 separate trip to the bank and yet they couldn't get it right. I am going to make another trip there tomorrow, if the RM still screws thing up, I will say bye bye to HSBC.

No minimum balance fee in our current account, free ATM card with unlimited withdrawal. Standard Chartered Priority Banking VISA debit card even offers free unlimited cash withdrawals via any House ATM network. Offshore banking services are provided free too without having to meet the minimum balance criteria just to name a few.


There are good apples and bad apples ... Depends on your luck i guess. As mentioned, Premier/Citigold/Priority Banking services are the ultra-light version of Private Banking. The main perks are to get some banks fees waived, no need to fill in your own forms, no need to take number etc.

If you had 150mil, there probably wouldn't be a min balance fee in the first place.



Already have that.



There can't be that many ATMs in that network.



He would have met the minimum criteria anyway. Besides, what's so attractive about offshore banking?



Not that there are a whole lot of fees.



Can't remember the last time I filled in a form at the bank.



Can't remember the last time I took a number at the bank either. Most of the time all our transactions are online or through a machine. If there's a form to be filled, most of the time it's filled in by the staff.

Then that person is qualified for Citi Private Banking, JP Morgan Chase etc. He/she won't even look at this ultra-light private banking services. And these extremely wealthy people can be very stingy too. Just look at the complaints US Trusts received when a rumor started to circulate last year that they are going to charge their customers for using non-Bank of America ATM in the United States.

By the way, i believe many businessmen have millions of Ringgit in local banks current accounts and the minimum balance fee still apply.



Still, it's something that their customers can take advantage of. There will soon be more HSBC Amanah offsite ATM ...



Plenty ! Else why do you think many Malaysians have offshore bank accounts ? Malaysians make up a big number of Citi IPB London clients and in order not to pay any relationship fee, one will have to maintain a daily balance of at least US$100,000 in their Citi IPB London account.

US$100,000 might seems like a tiny number to some of you but not everyone have that kind of cash flow all the time. HSBC Premier can help those people seeking for offshore banking services and all relationship fees will be waived !



Still, one will want to save as much as possible. Just like the case with US Trusts extremely wealthy clients.



You have not been into the branch in a very long time i suppose ? Maybank, CIMB Bank and RHB Bank practically force you to fill up the forms first before allowing you to take a number. Public Bank suggests you to fill in the forms first before taking a number but then it's just a suggestion and they are not enforcing it. AmBank on the other hand, no longer requires its customers to fill in any forms since last year.

Other forms that you may not have to fill in yourself are the loan application forms, credit card application forms etc as your RM will help you.


Not everyone relies on automated banking machines only. Many still actually go into the branch to do whatever they need to do.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Apr 26 2010, 12:34 PM

True, but doesn't change the fact that they're offering to waive a fee that wouldn't have to be paid in the first place



For what it's worth



Ok.



I don't know, you tell me



So it follows that you should bank with AmBank.



It's better that way, you're going to have to check them anyway.



If you qualify you'll have one sent to you.



I can't imagine why anyone would do that.