UOBam sets sights on new savers

With the Deposit Protection Act taking effect next year, reducing the government saving guarantee from unlimited to Bt1 million per bank account by 2012, CEO Vana Bulbon is looking to tap a saver's exodus. He said that to date, money in mutual funds was only a sixth of total bank savings in a Bt6-trillion system.

UOBAM's trump card is its UOB Sure Daily Fund, launched two years ago. Without much publicity or marketing, Vana said total net asset value for the fund was already Bt25 billion. But with the Bt10-million-plus campaign in full motion, he expects the number to reach Bt70 billion this year.

With the bank's backing, a recent campaign has been a full-scale assault. It targets urban workers' immediate senses with billboards at all Skytrain stations, 279 small video screens in major office buildings around Bangkok and a song composed by Thai songwriter Boyd Kosiyapong and complete with a music video starring the fund's new celebrity presenter, Pattarapon Sinlapajan.

Vana said the goal was to make mutual funds as accessible as possible. The UOB Sure Daily Fund requires a minimum investment of only Bt2,000. Minimal payments in subsequent transactions are Bt1 a unit.

Vana said that with banks already raising interest rates, it was highly likely the Bank of Thailand would follow suit, which would increase this treasury fund's returns. The current three-month yield has risen slightly, from 2.67 per cent on May 30 to 2.7 per cent now. But he said because of the very short-term treasury bills it buys, there is risk when interest rates come down. Still, he believes that by investing only in government bills of no more than 100-day duration, investors are not likely to get hit by mark-to-market costs in the event of interest-rate jolts.

But returns are not the whole point. Vana has more products in his drawer waiting to be revamped. To make it truly accessible, customers can buy and sell investment units online, via telephone and at the bank's 153 branches nationwide.

Vana said he was already hitting the road and had been training bank staff upcountry as well as in major cities. Radio spots have also been aired on regional radio stations.