You can open a FD account without a savings account.

Online from MY, can??

? CIMB SG open FD they also auto open another savings account. If not FD mature withdraw go where? If it is CIMB MY I not sure. In fact a lot of bank FD in Spore need open savings account first and then use this as source to put FD. Those no need maybe is go branch counter settle as I DIY all online web mobile

Different banks have different rules.

Good promo!

If you're based in MY, is the exchange rate offered by Alliance bank any good?
If you're based in SG, you could DBS remit for free to MY. My only concern is the FCY acc because many FCY acc offered in M'sia have a limited functionality and/or expensive fees.

are you based in MY or SG?

About 2% spread from market rate. https://www.allianceonline.com.my/personal/...e_kiosk_view.do

I think your SGD in Alliance bank is just for FD, so what matters would be inward remittance and outward remittance charges plus the FD rate/tenure. The "functionality" is already limited to FD. Fee-wise, 7.50 MYR for outward remittance to SG bank account. No mention of charges on inward remittance on Alliance side from what I found. https://www.alliancebank.com.my/general/fees-and-charges

How much of a premium above local Malaysian FD would someone need to de-risk the daily forex fluctuations? SGD went from 3.4 to 3.24 in just a few weeks.

Isn't the whole point of FD is an exchange of low returns and illiquidity for virtually zero risk? Adding forex introduces a very real risk of capital loss, and keeping it locked in a foreign FD removes your ability to maneuver quickly when forex is swinging significantly - either to lock in gains or to stop loss.

Not sure what you mean by "de-risk" daily forex fluctuation. If you mean lock in forex rate by the time your foreign FD mature, then you can consider using derivatives like FX swap to hedge against FX fluctuations. But that's not available to the retail public (and the contracts usually are of large minimum denominations).

To avoid all these, you must be clear about your aim of FD deposits. Is it for retirement in Malaysia, or for foreign investment short-term parking? For the former, you can just stick to MYR FD in local banks in Malaysia. For the later, you can consider foreign FD.

You are correct. In the end it depends on your usage. The best hedging policy is to park your funds according to your needs. That way, your financial goals are not subject to currency risks.

E.g., Malaysia retirement fund in MY -> park in MYR FD. For foreign investments -> park in foreign FD as needed.

Rules are the same as it set by MAS 🤦‍♀️

Only the thing different is the implementation of it which is why all FD accounts must be accompanied with a savings account

The reason is why some put FX FD is to preserve wealth and diversify and they are not even looking for returns in the 1st place

Which is why some banks place a very high minimum opening for certain FX accounts as they cater to certain privileged

Interesting claim. Can you please point me to the MAS regulations that mandate this?

There are banks in both Singapore and Malaysia that do not require a savings account. From my experience, banks are happy to hold on to your money for as long as you don't collect at maturity, but usually they will renew the FD for you at prevailing rates. In Malaysia FDs left to auto-renew past 7 years will be transferred to unclaimed moneys.

TOS et al.,

Just my hunch that this 3 mth 4.1% is better than the 6 mth 4%. To me, chance of alliance bank failure in "3 mths" is very low and not worth 1% pa additional premium to counter the risk. Also, the corresponding bank (Alliance bank's SGD account bank in Singapore) is a MAS regulated bank so the chance of the corresponding bank run down is also very low in "3 mths".

So I think the risk is lower than market expected and reward is higher than market think. Just my 2 cents.

And this is a case for those with SGD already in a SG bank waiting for FD (not for those looking for converting MYR to SGD for FD). So the cost to transfer out from SG bank and the cost to transfer out from MY bank need to be assessed.
CIMB FCY account has a half yearly fee (10 USD), inward TT cost from foreign bank RM 5 and the outward TT cost is RM 10, so not preferred as a SGD FD bank compared to Alliance bank, no inward TT cost and outward TT cost of RM 7.5 only. So this comparison show this is a 'viable' new path as alternative to get greater return over current conventional path.

I am starting to like your posts.

Yes, you are right. 1% kind of too high a premium. No CDS data to support also.

Do you have info on this: Also, the corresponding bank (Alliance bank's SGD account bank in Singapore) is a MAS regulated bank?

But for this Alliance bank SGD offshore FD to work, you need to factor in the inward remittance cost for those without access to DBS remit. That's something to consider (i.e., even though Alliance doesn't charge anything, other SG banks will charge outward remittance fee to allow you to move SGD out of their bank in the first place). You have any solutions for that?

As for the corresponding bank, I can't find any info from the web. However, any corresponding bank that can host SGD saving account is a bank/institution regulated by MAS. As there is no so call offshore SGD right? (like offshore RMB which is not governed by PRC)

I am not sure if we could directly use CIMB clicks to transfer SGD from CIMB SG to CIMB MY SGD Current account. Based on below quote, it seems using CIMB clicks there is zero fee. Someone need to simulate it in CIMB clicks to validate. If it can't be done, then the fee could be similar to the one issue via branch - which is hefty and not viable (much worse than TT outward from CIMB MY).

*SGD-MYR Transfer on CIMB Clicks Zero commission, agent fees and cable charges

*Issue via Branch –
*Debit from FCY account without foreign exchange
*0.125% commission (min S$10, max S$100) + 0.125% commission-in-lieu of exchange (min S$10, max S$100) + agent fee (if applicable) + cable charge (flat rate of S$30 or equivalent)

Probably this is yet another advantage to have a DBS account that Malaysian should seriously consider to open (even though through the hardship like Ramjade suggested).

This post has been edited by Toku: Dec 4 2022, 12:34 AM

I've used CIMB online banking to link my MY and SG accounts and transferred money back and forth between the two. No issues.

Can you share which bank in Spore no need savings account to open FD? I refer to DIY placement of FD via web mobile not go to branch counter to place. I am Sporean btw so I am keen to know your lobang

Sorry. I don't know whether there's one for web-based FDs specifically, and yes I'm referring to OTC. The earlier question I was replying to was a general statement about being able to place a FD without requiring a savings account in both SG and MY, not anything specific to eFD. My apologies as well as I might have missed to read the keyword - 'online' in the question.

I'm Malaysian btw, so my focus is a lot more on Malaysian banks, and just a small handful of foreign banks in a few countries. You probably know more SG lobangs than me lah.

This post has been edited by gooroojee: Dec 13 2022, 04:18 PM

This MAS guidelines as below:

What are the requirements to open a fixed deposit account?

If you are an existing account holder, you will have to log in to the bank’s internet banking platform to open a fixed deposit. If you do not have an existing account with the bank, you might be required to open an account. This would require the following:

Front and back of your NRIC (for Singaporeans / PRs)
Passport and Employment Pass (for foreigners)
Proof of residential address

It is required due to ekyc purposes and Amla issue 🤦‍♀️

Unlike before OTC where you can open without savings and gone are those days anymore unless you are current existing renewal holders 🤦‍♀️

It same goes as Malaysian banks as they just want a placeholder account to fulfilled AmLa gathering of account holder details

Thanks for the quote from MAS. Seems like a guideline rather than a regulation, and the use of "you might be"...