Guarantee rules change！ 跟穷人没关系哈！看乐！

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http://www.theage.com.au/nationa ... -20081024-58ab.html

Guarantee rules change

Premium set on guarantee
Michelle Grattan and Marc Moncrief
October 25, 2008
Page 1 of 3 | Single Page View
PEOPLE with more than $1 million in the bank will have to pay a premium to get the benefit of a government guarantee, under changes Treasurer Wayne Swan has unveiled to stabilise the financial system.

The Government is imposing an optional fee for big depositors in banks, building societies and credit unions in order for them to obtain a guarantee.

This will reduce the incentive for money to flow from bodies without the guarantee into those protected by it.

Regulators are also looking at further action to help institutions not covered by the government's bank deposits guarantee, such as mortgage funds. The Government is reluctant to extend the guarantee, but regulators have been asked to report on ways to keep this sector viable and stable.

Regulators are also examining ways to ensure people in genuine hardship can be looked after when funds freeze redemptions.

Thirteen of the 20 biggest mortgage funds have frozen their assets due to pressures on their liquidity.

Mr Swan said yesterday's measures had been recommended by the Reserve Bank, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Treasury.

They "further refine and strengthen the guarantees the Government has provided Australians in these uncertain times", he said.

The move follows a week of furious argument between the Government and the Opposition over the guarantee.

Yesterday's change effectively puts a limit, albeit a small one, on the guarantee that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stressed was comprehensive when he announced it.

The move came as the global credit crisis claimed another victim, with GE Money's retreat from key market segments.

GE Money will no longer offer home loans, motor finance or small business loans, although it will continue to provide other services such as retail store finance and credit cards.

The company will axe 335 jobs as it deals with the increased costs of lending. In the next month 100 jobs would go, with the remaining 235 spread over the coming year, it said in a statement.

In other developments:

â- European sharemarkets were sinking last night, down between 5% and 7%, following the Australian market's 2.6% fall.

â- A drop in confidence sent the dollar from US67.52¢ to a low of 61.87¢ - a fall of almost 6¢ in less than 24 hours.

â- The Government moved to reassure small businesses facing hard times as growth contracts.

â- In good news for home buyers, non-bank lender RAMS Home Loans has lowered its variable home loan interest rate by a further 20 basis points to 8.19%. This makes it one of the lowest.

National Australia Bank chief executive John Stewart last night welcomed the action on bank deposits over $1 million, and took a swipe at the Opposition. "The design of this guarantee is sensitive and complex and it has been important to get it right," he said, adding it was "unfortunate that this process has been so highly politicised".

ANZ spokesman Paul Edwards said the announcement was welcome in providing certainty. "The arrangements are sensible and are another positive step in supporting a strong banking system in Australia."

Duncan Fairweather, executive director of the Australian Financial Markets Association, said: "The Treasurer has managed to strike an astute balance that restores competitive equilibrium in the banking industry."

But shadow treasurer Julie Bishop said Mr Swan had failed to resolve the crisis in the investment fund market, "caused by the Rudd Government's bungled implementation of an unlimited guarantee for bank deposits".

The announcement "does nothing to solve the problem of a flight of funds from institutions excluded from the guarantee", she said.

A tiny 0.5% of account holders are affected by the fee, which would only cut in for the portion of a deposit above $1 million. The premium that big depositors will pay will vary according to the credit rating of the institution.The fee will apply from November 28.

Institutions are expected to offer big depositors separate products - one with the guarantee plus fee and one that does not carry the guarantee.

The Government is also extending the guarantee to Australian branches of foreign banks for funds raised from Australian residents.

The Government's earlier October 12 guarantee covers 15 million deposit accounts with $800 billion, and fund-raising facilities of $1.2 trillion used by financial institutions to finance small business investments and home loans.

At a summit in Brisbane attended yesterday by more than 500 people from the small business sector, the Prime Minister announced $4 million for financial advice, promised that the Government would pay its bills on time or small business could charge penalty interest, and pledged new procedures to make it easier for these businesses to sell to the Government.

Meanwhile state and federal ministers who oversee unemployment benefits have met to fine-tune operations in anticipation of higher unemployment and tougher economic times.

"We expect the unemployment figures to rise," said the federal Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O'Connor.

With DAN HARRISON, VANESSA O'SHAUGHNESSY