Government guarantees bank deposits

The Government will guarantee all bank deposits and would provide liquidity and even inject capital into the system when necessary. These measures, effective today, were announced by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, at a press conference at the Monetary Authority of Macao this evening. He said this is aimed at boosting the people’s confidence in banks and maintain stability in the banking system. Mr Tam stressed Macao’s banking sector had all along been very healthy and well-regulated, and these moves should not be seen as a sign of weakness in the banking system. The Government would review these measures by the end of 2010, said Mr Tam. He disclosed the total amount of deposits in Macao’s non-offshore banks amounted to about 228.4 billion patacas. Deposits of these banks varied from one billion patracas to about 60 billion patacas. With foreign exchange reserves of more than 120 billion patacas and fiscal reserves, the Government was financially strong enough to provide these backings, he said. However, he said he believed that it was unlikely that the Government would have to use its foreign exchange reserves and fiscal reserves, considering the stability of Macao’s banking system. He said he believed that the global financial turmoil might affect Macao’s economy for a few years, though he said he was very confident in protecting the economic backbone of Macao. He urged the public to keep their faith in Macao’s banking sector in order to keep the stability of the society.