All retail banks with a full banking licence and finance companies are required by law to be DI Scheme members and their contributions to the DI Fund, administered by SDIC, will be used to compensate depositors should a Scheme member fail.
Chief executive officer Low Kwok Mun says SDIC wants to reinforce the message, especially to small depositors, that their savings enjoy a “high level of protection” should a bank or a finance company fail.
Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director (financial supervision) at MAS, says the increased $100,000 DI coverage cap will benefit all insured depositors at participating financial institutions, “providing greater protection and peace of mind as their deposits grow over time”. “At $100,000, the vast majority of insured depositors will be fully protected. This revision follows MAS’s regular review to ensure the continued adequacy of DI as a safety net.”
Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), welcomes the move. “We believe it will give customers added assurance and peace of mind when they place deposits with banks in Singapore.”
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The DI Scheme covers non-bank depositors, which include individuals, companies, associations and societies, that have eligible deposits placed with a DI Scheme member.
Singapore dollar deposits eligible for protection under the DI Scheme include savings and current accounts, fixed deposits and monies placed under the Supplementary Retirement Scheme.
All these deposits in a DI Scheme member are aggregated and insured up to $100,000 per depositor. Monies placed under the CPF investment and retirement schemes are separately aggregated and also insured up to a maximum of $100,000 per depositor.
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The DI Scheme does not cover foreign currency accounts, structured deposits and investment products such as unit trusts and shares.
Besides administering the DI Scheme, SDIC also administers the Policy Owners' Protection (PPF) Scheme, which protects insurance policy owners should a life or general insurer fail. The PPF Scheme covers policies issued in Singapore by a licensed insurer to both residents and non-residents.
SDIC was set up in 2006 to administer the DI Scheme. Its Board is accountable to the minister-in-charge of the MAS.
On May 1, 2011, the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011 was passed, and this mandated the SDIC to administer both the DI and the PPF Schemes. Its main roles are to manage the DI and PPF funds, make payment of compensation to depositors, policy owners or relevant beneficiaries and third parties and to educate the public on both Schemes.
The SDIC also announced a new public education campaign, its first since the Covid-19 pandemic, to raise awareness of deposit insurance among members of the public.
SDIC has a mandate of educating the public about deposit insurance and has been conducting public education campaigns since 2006, when deposit insurance was first launched. The latest campaign, which bears the theme, “Don’t panic. Rest easy with SDIC”, will feature advertisements in MRT trains, buses, radio and online platforms.
Photos: SDIC
