As a POSBank customer who has been frustrated by the level of service provided by DBS Bank after its takeover of the former, I would urge the management of OUB to reject outright the attempt by DBS to coerce its smaller rival into submission.
The recent ad campaign by DBS regarding its bid is not only unnecessary, but contemptuous in that DBS assumes the takeover is a foregone conclusion.
No doubt, the government has continuously “encourage” the local banking industry to consolidate in order to compete on a global basis. But this is based on the premise that the pooling together of resources will result in economies of scale, better efficiency and higher sevice standard.
In the case of the DBS/POSB merger, there is no question about the cost-savings achieved (what with the closure of so many branches), but where is the service when you need it?
I remembered an incident not too long ago when I had some difficulties transferring funds from my Citibank account to a POSB account using Internet banking. Due to the relocation of the POSB branch concerned, I was unable to find the appropriate branch code to effect the transfer. When I called DBS to check, I was told point-blank: “Why don’t you call Citibank instead?”
