RDP 9506: The Liberalisation and Integration of Domestic Financial Markets in Western Pacific Economies Appendix 1: Summary of Deregulation in Banking and in Deposit and Loan Markets

Australia
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
February 1972     maximum interest rate on overdrafts and housing loans over A$50,000 removed
January 1975 banks' agreement to maintain uniform fee structure discontinued since it was contrary to Trade Practices Act    
February 1976     limit extended to A$ 100,000
December 1980   interest rate ceilings on all bank deposits removed  
June 1982     Reserve Bank of Australia ceased quantitative lending guidance
August 1984   all remaining controls on deposits (terms and conditions) removed  
February 1985 entry of 16 foreign banks    
April 1985     remaining ceilings on interest rates removed, except for owner-occupied housing loans under A$ 100,000
April 1986     interest rate ceiling on new owner-occupied housing loans removed, existing loans still subject to maximum rate of 13.5 per cent
February 1992 further entry by foreign banks approved    
February 1992 to June 1994 foreign banks have the choice of operating as branch or locally incorporated subsidiary; foreign bank branches not allowed to conduct retail banking business    

Source: Battellino and McMillan (1989), Reserve Bank of Australia (1994), Annual Report.

Hong Kong
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
July 1981   banks required to observe rates set by the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) which sets the maximum interest rate payable on deposits up to HK$500,000 with a maturity less than 15 months banks required to observe rates set by HKAB which sets the prime lending rate
March 1989 3-tier system of banking introduced, comprising licensed banks (LBs), restricted licensed banks (RLBs or merchant banks) and deposit-taking companies (DTCs). (Only licensed banks are required to follow rates set by the HKAB but RLBs and DTCs are subject to minimum deposit requirements and DTCs are excluded from taking short-term deposits.)    
October 1994   interest rates on deposits fixed for more than 1 month liberalised  
January 1995   interest rates on deposits fixed for more than 7 days liberalised  
April 1995   interest rates on deposits fixed for more than 24 hours on call liberalised  
second half of 1995   interest rates on deposits fixed for more 24 hours to be liberalised  

Source: Ho (1991); Hong Kong Monetary Authority (1994), Quarterly Bulletin, November.

Indonesia
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
April 1974   stabilisation package including continued regulation of state bank deposit interest rates stabilisation package including introduction of credit ceilings for all banks; continued regulation of state bank lending interest rates; extension of provision of liquidity credits to state banks and of direct credits to priority sectors
June 1983   removal of interest rate ceilings on time deposits by state banks (but banks entered into an agreement of understanding to avoid ‘undue competition’) removal of interest rate ceilings on loans by state banks (and introduction of money market instruments); abolition of credit ceilings; reduction in liquidity credits to state banks and direct credit credits to priority sectors; priority shifts to non-oil exports
October 1988 prudential system overhauled; foreign banks allowed access to Tabanas and Taska rupiah savings schemes; entry and branch establishment requirements eased for domestic and foreign banks; restrictions on ATMs and mobile cash units eased tax-free status of interest earned on time deposits removed  
January 1990     substantial reduction in scale and scope of liquidity credits
February 1991 bank supervision policy overhauled; domestic banks permitted to establish branches overseas; restrictions on bank mergers eased    
1992 foreigners allowed to buy up to 49 per cent of publicly listed shares in banks    

Source: Bank Indonesia, Annual Report, various; MacIntyre (1993); APEG (1995).

Japan
Date
 
Banking sector Deposit market
 
Loan market
 
April 1972     long-term prime rate freed and set at 90 basis points above the subscribers' yield on 5 year debentures issued by long-term credit banks
March 1985   introduction of money market certificates (MMC), Y50m minimum deposit requirement and period of 1 to 6 months  
October 1985   interest rates on time deposits of 3 months to 2 years with minimum deposit of Y lb liberalised; minimum deposit requirement on MMCs extended to 1 month to 1 year  
March 1986   minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y500m  
September 1985   minimum deposit requirement on MMCs cut to Y30m; minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y300m  
April 1987   minimum deposit requirement on MMCs cut to Y20m; minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y100m  
October 1987   minimum deposit requirement on MMCs cut to Y10m; period on free time deposits extended to 1 month to 2 years  
April 1988   minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y50m  
November 1988   minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y20m  
January 1989     while the maximum short-term prime rate remains set at 15 per cent under the Temporary Interest Rate Adjustment Law, the rate is freed from the ODR and determined by bank funding costs and expenses
June 1989   small MMC introduced with minimum deposit requirement of Y3m  
October 1989   minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y10m; MMC merged into large-denomination time deposits  
April 1989   minimum deposit requirement on small MMC cut to Y1m  
April 1989   minimum deposit requirement on small MMC cut to Y500,000  
April 1991     long-term prime rate set at a spread above short-term prime rate
November 1991   minimum deposit requirement on free time deposits cut to Y3m  
June 1992   minimum deposit requirement on small MMCs abolished  
June 1993   minimum deposit requirement and period on time deposits abolished; small MMCs merged into time deposits  
October 1994   interest rates on demand deposits freed (though payment of interest on current deposits remains prohibited)  

Source: Bank of Japan (1994), Quarterly Bulletin, November.

Korea
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
June 1981 to 1983 privatisation of the 4 government-owned commercial banks (taking total of private commercial banks to 5)    
1981 lowering of entry barriers to domestic and foreign banks    
December 1982 maximum ownership of bank by one shareholder set to 8 per cent    
1980 elimination of discriminatory tax on NBFI deposit interest    
1982 lowering of entry barriers to NBFIs    
1985   banks allowed to establish high-yielding savings deposits  
December 1988   interest rates on time deposits of more than 2 years liberalised interest rates on loans from banks and NBFIs, other than interest rates on loans subsidised by government, fully liberalised; introduction of a prime rate system; interest rates on money market instruments fully liberalised
1989 3 new commercial banks established    
April 1989   December 1988 reform reversed December 1988 reform reversed
October 1990 facilitation of NBFI conversion to bank status    
July 1991 restrictions on foreign banks eased considerably, covering branching, limits on capital, access to local funding and participation in trust business    
November 1991   rates on deposits >3 years liberalised short-term rates on bank overdraft loans, commercial and trade bill discounts liberalised
November 1993   rates on deposits >2 years liberalised rates on all bank lending (excluding loans financed by the official sector) liberalised; export financing incentives and government-directed funds for capital investment, housing funds and agricultural funds remain
November 1994   rates on deposits >1 years liberalised  
1995     plan to free all lending rates
1996   plan to liberalise rates on all deposits except demand deposits, introduce products linked to money market rates  
1997   plan to set up plan to deregulate demand deposits  

Source: Lee (1992), Bank of Korea (1994).

Malaysia
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
October 1978   commercial banks allowed to set interest rates on deposits 1 year or less commercial banks allowed to set base lending rates (BLR) under guidance of Bank Negara Malaysia
March 1983     bank lending rates pegged to banks' declared BLR
October 1985   pegged interest rate agreement whereby rates on deposits 1 year or less are aligned to 2 lead banks' rates  
February 1987   pegged interest rate agreement disbanded  
1987     margin of lending rates over BLR restricted to 4 percentage points
February 1991 note: controls on entry of foreign banks and establishment of new banks remain; domestic bank branch numbers not controlled but foreign bank branch numbers are   BLR freed from Bank Negara Malaysia's administrative control

Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, Quarterly Bulletin, various; Abidin (1986).

Philippines
Date
 
Banking sector
 
Deposit market Loan market
 
July 1981   interest rate ceilings removed interest rate ceilings removed except on loans for up to 1 year
January 1983     interest rate ceiling on loans up to one year removed
early 1980s     25% of loanable funds directed to agriculture and agrarian reform credits
November 1985     major reduction in subsidy element of central bank refinancing; interest rate ceilings removed
1989 lifting of moratorium on the establishment of new banks    
April/May 1991 bank branching and ATM restrictions liberalised   5–10% of loanable funds directed to small and medium cottage enterprises
June 1993 restructuring of the central bank    
May 1994 foreign bank entry allowed (as a full branch, as a local subsidiary or by acquisition of an existing domestic institution). 10 foreign banks granted full branch status    

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Annual Report, various; Hutchcroft (1993).

Singapore
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
July 1975   domestic interest rate cartel abolished, all banks free to quote their own interest rates domestic interest rate cartel abolished, all banks free to quote their own interest rates

Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore, Annual Report, various; APEG (1995).

Taiwan
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
1975     Central Bank of China authorises the Interest Rate Committee of the Banks' Association to set the ceiling and floor of lending rates
November 1980     prescribed interest rate band widened; interest rates on bank debentures, NCDs, FX deposits and interbank call loans liberalised
December 1983 offshore banking allowed    
April 1984 banks allowed to increase branches by 3 each year (up from 2 each year)    
March 1985     10 large local banks free to set prime rate according to market pressures and customers' credit rating but within the prescribed band
September 1985     prime rate system available to all banks
November 1985     Interest Rate Control Statute abolished, giving financial institutions more autonomy in setting interest rates
January 1986   categories of deposits simplified from 13 to 4; interest rate floor abolished  
1986–1987 restrictions on foreign bank business, NT$ financing and branches moderately eased    
1987     decontrol of foreign exchange outflow, reducing the privilege of foreign banks to import cheap capital
July 1989   ceiling on interest rates removed band on interest rates removed
July 1989 lifting of ban on establishment of private banks (new banks limited to 5 branches, not allowed to deal in foreign exchange and, for the first three years of operation, securities)    
1989–1993 privatisation of state-owned commercial banks announced    
1994   non-residents allowed to open NT$ accounts  

Source: Chen (1990), Yang (1991), Cheng (1993), Asia-Pacific Economic Group (1995).

Thailand
Date Banking sector Deposit market Loan market
1983     18 per cent ceiling on growth in commercial bank private credit imposed
1984     ceiling on commercial bank credit growth abolished
1985 Bank of Thailand to conduct on-site bank examinations, remove bank directors and officers, restrict transactions between directors and their banks, and bring action against shareholders    
June 1989   interest rate ceiling on fixed deposits >1 year removed  
March 1990   interest rate ceiling on fixed deposits <1 year removed  
early 1992 as part of the goal of universal banking, banks permitted to underwrite public securities and provide financial consultation and information services    
January 1992   interest rate ceiling on savings deposits removed  
June 1992     interest rate ceiling on loans by banks, finance companies and credit fonciers removed (except for housing loans to low income earners) but some lending restrictions remain
April/May 1986 issue 5 new bank licences to foreign banks and 20 new offshore banking licences; allow foreign banks to open 2 new branches (1 outside Bangkok)    
January 1993 banks required to maintain BIS ascetand liability ratios    

Source: Wibulswasdi and Tanvanich (1992); Doner and Unger (1993); Kirakul, Jantarangs and Chantanahom (1993).