Local banks see more savings accounts opened a week after raising interest rates

LOCAL lenders DBS , OCBC and UOB have welcomed new customers as depositors sought to take advantage of improved interest rates, demonstrating a significant sensitivity to rate hikes that matches a poll conducted last week by The Business Times (BT).

In response to queries from BT, OCBC said it saw a 50 per cent increase in 360 accounts opened daily between Aug 30 and Sep 6 – compared with the average number of accounts opened daily in August.

On Aug 30, the bank announced it would raise the maximum interest rate of its 360 account to 4.05 per cent on the first S$100,000 of depositors’ 360 accounts from Sep 1.