A N N U a L R E P O R T 1
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ANNUA L REPOR T 1984 Contents Highlights of 1984 Highlights Number of Savings Accounts: 2,672 million Chairman's Statement /2 Balances of all Accounts: $7,333million Board of Directors/4 Number of Transactions: 34 million The Year In Review/6 Cash Turnover: $17,187 million New Services/8 Interest Credited: $407 million Improvement in Services/10 Number of Cash-On-Line Tellers: 204 Related Services/14 Number of Current Accounts: 53,000 Community Relations/16 Number of Salary Accounts: 334,000 International Relations/18 Personnel/20 Principal Officers/22 Changes and Trends/24 Financial Statements/26 Directory of Offices/33 Subsidiary and Associate Companies/36 Cover The thrust of the Bank's activities in 1984 was the promotion of services in support of the national objective of minimising cash transactions for manpower savings. Towards this end, three cashless payment systems were introduced. In addition, the Salary Crediting Scheme was promoted Post Office Savings Bank more aggressively. The cover POSB Centre 73 Bras Basah Road highlights these activities during Singapore 0718 the year. Number of Savings Accounts Total Depositors' Balances Number of Cash-On-Line Tellers Number of Transactions Chairman's REVIEW Statement Midway through this decade of the 1980s, it would be pertinent to look back at the performance of the Bank since its inception in 1972 as a Statutory Corporation to see if a lesson might not be learnt for guiding the direction and thrust of the Bank for the rest of the decade. POSB's performance since 1972 might be summarised in the following key statistics: These statistics highlight the healthy growth of the Bank and the achievement of its twin objectives: (i) to encourage thrift and savings (ii) to mobilise domestic savings for national development Management Philosophy The key to the Bank's growth was its people-oriented philosophy. This philosophy extended to the people who staffed the Bank and to the people the Bank served. The Bank has been most fortunate to have as its management team a group of highly dedicated and loyal individuals whose commitment to the Bank is complete and total. Apart from the management team, the POSB girls, as a group, form the Bank's most valued asset Often, they are the POSB — our link with the depositors. Our officers have always been encouraged to adopt an open-door policy so that there is better empathy with corporate goals and achievements. The result is a tightly knit team with closely fostered teamwork. For the depositors, we developed a philosophy of orientating our services to their convenience. Hence, our investment in an extensive branching network to bring banking to their doorsteps, and by the application of the latest technology, into their homes. This philosophy of providing convenient banking services has been the cornerstone for the tremendous growth of POSB. THE YEAR IN RETROSPECT As memorable years go, 1984 is second only to 1977 when POSB celebrated its centenary year. In April 1984, the Bank hosted the 14th World Congress of Savings Banks in Singapore. This was the first time that the triennial congress was held in Asia, and it reflected the international recognition of the development and importance of the savings movement in this part of the world. We were privileged and honoured to have the Acting President of the Republic of Singapore, Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng, open the Congress. The 3-day Congress was attended by over 1,000 delegates and accompanying persons from 43 countries. The theme of the Congress, "International Development through Co-operation", was covered exhaustively through comprehensive papers from renowned speakers. The Congress also discussed extensively the crucial issues currently facing savings banking. 1984 was also memorable for the introduction of the current account facility. In the 10 months since its introduction to the end of the year, the POSB current account attracted over 53,000 account-holders. Two other services with application of the latest technology, were started in 1984. POSBLine, a telephone banking service, was launched on 1 December 1984. In the same month a pilot Debit Payment System, in effect a cashless payment facility, was undertaken as a joint project with the Ministry of Health. This project is a fore-runner of the EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) system, which when implemented should revolutionise the concept of payments for goods and services. During the year, POSB joined four major commercial banks to develop a national EFTPOS system. A company. Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) has been formed to operate the system. In the traditional services, we continued to make steady progress. Growth was achieved in the following key areas: We established 17 new branches, and closed 6 Post Office outlets, as part of a master plan to locate outlets in high traffic areas and population centres, and in response to population shifts. At the end of the year, the Bank had 131 branches including 3 automated branches. The expansion of the Cash-On-Line teller network went according to plan and 54 more ATMs were installed, bringing the total to 204. The success of the Cash-On-Line service has helped in increasing productivity. In 1984, transaction volume at Cash-On-Line tellers totalled 9.5 million. This constituted 56% of total withdrawals and 60% of withdrawals below $1,000. Towards Cashless Transactions. During the year, Government formed a committee to look into ways to reduce cash transactions for manpower savings. Two major approaches were identified: (i) encourage payment of salaries into bank accounts rather than in cash (ii) encourage payment of Government rates and fees by cheques, Giro or other Electronic Fund Transfer systems. We were in a position to help spearhead this national effort as POSB had been promoting the Salary Crediting Scheme since 1972 and Giro since 1974. To accelerate the push towards cashless paydays, we undertook an intensive education programme to teach workers how to operate ATMs for withdrawal of their salaries. A demonstration Cash-On-Line service was launched in August to provide workers with hands-on experience in the use of the ATM. This service was provided at their factory premises. A second demonstration ATM was put on the road in October to meet the demands of employers who found the service useful. In addition, we simplified our ATM operational procedures for multiple-fast-cash withdrawals of $50, $100, or $200 in just 3 simple steps. The withdrawal amounts were selected after careful studies of withdrawal patterns. LOOKING AHEAD: THE COMING YEARS People POSB will continue to be people-oriented. This will remain the cornerstone of its management philosophy and of the services it provides to the public. POSB's growth was the direct result of its investment and belief in the ability of the staff. Human resources will continue to be the single most valuable ingredient for the future. Training, therefore, will play a central role in the continuing search for progress and betterment. We will encourage more active participation and contribution from our junior staff in improving their work environment and job procedures. For depositors, POSB will continue to mould banking services to their needs. Customer surveys have proven useful in obtaining feedback from depositors on the types of services they want and expect. Annual market surveys will be a regular feature to provide feedback and inputs for the development and improvement of the Bank's services. Technology Computerisation and the harness of technology were the next most important contributors to growth. Technology will be further tapped to make banking even easier for the man in the street. The full potential of electronic fund transfer systems will be exploited to help pave the way to the cashless society of the future. An additional step in this direction was taken when the Bankjoined the Interbank Giro system for the acceptance of cashless payments. Branch Network The Bank will expand its network until an optimum number of outlets is reached in the next From left to right: few years. New outlets will be located primarily in new townships and major shopping centres. Branches will be Mr. Chan Sek Keong, Dr. Toh Peng Kiat, kept comfortable and small, but efficient. Existing branches will be renovated to provide a more congenial Mr. Ng Kiat Chong, environment for staff and depositors. Mr. Lee Hock Ley, Mr. Thai Chee Ken, ATM Network POSB is committed to expand its ATM network to serve the burgeoning demand for its Mr. Hsuan Owyang Cash-On-Line services. We already have more than 650,000 cardholders, and have targetted a network of 300 and Mr. Tan Chok Kian (Chairman) Cash-On-Line tellers by the end of the year. Having successfully implemented our first 5-year ATM programme, we are now in the process of finalising our next 5-year plan to take us to the end of the present decade. Investment of Funds We will continue to invest the bulk of the Bank's funds in the public sector to help finance national development. However, a fine and judicious balance must be achieved in order that we can continue to pay our depositors a fair and just rate of return. The primary goal of Credit POSB, the Bank's housing loan arm, is to promote home-ownership. To this end, substantial funds will continue to be provided for housing loans at competitive rates to individuals, especially to those who will be owning their first homes, under our First Home Ownership Scheme. Finally I would like to record my sincere appreciation to all staff for their dedication and untiring efforts to ensure the steady progress of POSB. My thanks also go to my fellow members on the Board of Directors for their valued counsel.