by Siow Li Sen

(SINGAPORE) HSBC Singapore which has seen long queues at some of its branches will end its 2 per cent fixed deposit (FD) promotion tomorrow instead of the three-week drive that it had initially planned. The bank appears more than satisfied with the response it has already received - even though some customers said they had to wait up to three hours before they were attended to.

Interest-starved savers had similarly overwhelmed a Standard Chartered Bank FD promotion in July prompting the bank to end its offer after just two days.

HSBC had originally planned to run a three-week promotion drive starting Monday (Sept 8). It is offering to pay 2 per cent for a 12-month fixed deposit for amounts between $50,000 and $1 million. At DBS Bank, a comparable fixed deposit pays 0.9250 per cent.

One saver told BT he had joined 10 people lining up outside the HSBC Marine Parade branch at 9.20 am, ten minutes before opening time on Tuesday.

'A girl from HSBC came out and asked if we were there for the FD and she took our identity cards to help process opening our accounts,' the saver said. 'I waited 30 minutes,' he said.

He was among the more fortunate ones. Other depositors told BT they had to wait much longer.

At the Holland Village branch, one depositor saw a sign on Wednesday which said it would take three hours and when she went back yesterday, it was reduced to two hours.
An HSBC spokeswoman said the bank's fixed deposit promotion started on Sept 8 and will end this Saturday, Sept 13.

'Response to the promotion has been very good, as such waiting times at the branches have been longer than usual,' said the spokeswoman.

'We have put up signs to inform customers of the expected waiting time. The fixed deposit promotion is part of the HSBC bankwide sale that will see a host of great offers to bring more value and rewards to our customers.'

The bank is also offering a $150,000 cash bonanza lucky draw on its credit cards as part of the HSBC bankwide sale.

This article was first published in The Business Times on September 12, 2008.