DBS launches new savings plan for US and Australian dollars

Customers may get a rate of 1.68% for the US dollar plan and 6% for the Australian dollar.

DBS has announced a new foreign currency savings plan offering higher interest rates for U.S. and Australian dollar savings.

From now till Nov. 30, customers opening a new six-month time deposit account in the U.S. dollar or the Australian dollar may get a rate of 1.68 percent for the former and 6 percent for the latter. The account value should be no less than 20,000 units of the currency or no more than 3 million.

The plan is not bundled with other investment products and does not charge a processing fee when funds are wired into the bank. When the exchange of currency reaches a certain amount, the customer can enjoy preferential exchange rates.

According to Kevin Tang, Head of Consumer Banking Group of DBS Taiwan, investors should consider foreign currency products as a risk diversification measure, in the midst of global financial instability.

Among major currencies, the euro is unlikely to gain strength in the short term due to the European debt crisis. The U.S. dollar, on the other hand, has given a strong performance lately and presents an ideal investment alternative, he said.

“The customer will not only get higher rates but may also pocket exchange rate gains,” Tang said. “Typically, a six-month U.S. dollar time deposit is around 0.42 percent. We offer 1.68 percent, more than quadrupling the market rate.”

View the full story in China Post.