Singapore, Malaysia Guarantee All Bank Deposits...

Governments in Singapore and Malaysia said Thursday they would guarantee all bank deposits, taking steps to keep banks on even footing with institutions in other countries where similar backing was recently offered. 

"The announcement by a few jurisdictions in the region of government guarantees for bank deposits has set off a dynamic that puts pressure on other jurisdictions to respond," the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore's Ministry of Finance said in a statement. 

Singapore will back all foreign and local currency deposits with S$150 billion ($101 billion) in government reserves, or more than 60% of 2007's gross domestic product. Malaysia did not specify a limit on the amount of deposits it would guarantee. 

Earlier this week the Hong Kong government announced a similar move to back all deposits after Australia, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and Greece put guarantees in place.  More...

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