H. Kong to raise protection on bank deposits to $102K

The Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board will raise the protection limit on bank deposit savings by 60 per cent to HK$800,000 ($102,420) in the fourth quarter of this year, a report by the Monetary Authority said on Tuesday.

The changes will allow more than 92 per cent of the city’s depositors to be covered, exceeding the benchmark of 90 per cent recommended by the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI), the statement said.

Raising the protection limit to HK$800,000 will require only a moderate growth of 30 per cent in the size of the Deposit Protection Scheme Fund (DPS), from the current HK$6.3 billion to about HK$8.2 billion.

“We hope that this latest round of DPS enhancements will further strengthen Hong Kong’s financial safety net,” said CEO of Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board Donald Chen.

The Board will continue to collaborate with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other stakeholders in the financial safety net to ensure Hong Kong’s financial stability, Chen added.

( 1 U.S. dollar = 7.82214 Hong Kong dollar)