Post Office Voted As Safe Haven For Depositors: Survey
Wednesday, December 1, 1999
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Nearly half of the nation's bank depositors say they plan to move some of their money from banks to the post office after a new 10 million yen payoff ceiling is placed on deposit insurance next April, according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey.
The July poll, based on responses from 721 adult men and women in Tokyo, confirms the widespread belief that the government-run post office, which handles the personal savings of individuals, is the most risk-averse of all financial institutions.
Some 25.8% of respondents said they will divide their savings into accounts at different institutions, while 22.3% said they will keep their money in the post office or a single trustworthy bank.
The post office drew support from 46.1% of the respondents, followed by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (8315) at 23.3%. Sumitomo Bank (4203) was a distant third with 5.7%. However, researchers caution that the public's preferences might change in the months to come, as new megabanks resulting from, for example, the planned merger of Industrial Bank of Japan (8302), Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank (8311) and Fuji Bank (8317) could win confidence from the public.
On preparedness for the nation's Big Bang financial deregulation, Citibank N.A., Japan Branches came in first place, with other foreign-affiliated institutions dominating the top 10 list. The Japanese banking arm of Citigroup Inc., the U.S. financial services group, was among the first to provide round-the-clock ATM services and telephone banking.
(The Nikkei Financial Daily Wednesday edition)
|
