Let us not die in in the midst of an unpaid debt to our nation's descendents.

Originally Posted by kingrant

Re: Banks should be careful when granting credit to these greedy old Singaporeans.
If banks like maybank doesnt want the business of people like Mr koh, then he shld take his business elsewhere and the bank doesnt deserve his custom. It will be the bank's loss.
Not everyone who uses a credit card is going to max out his card limit and run into debts. Retired seniors can be, and I believe are mostly responsible people who are probably more savvy than the younger set.

As mentioned, to prevent further bank bailouts from sub-prime lending, banks all over have to be careful about who and whom they lend to. Recovering a debt from a bankrupt or dead person isn't a simple affair and banks have every right to protect themselves against such capital risks. Governments world over are short of cash as they have overspent, the cost of bailouts being only one amongst many reasons for that.

Responsibility isn't dependent on age dear, age only gives experience to a person. Was Bernard Madoff [wiki] young and immature? Certainly not; its just that he put his financial knowledge to the most devious use, causing investors to his now declared ponzi scheme a loss of USD 18billion (Wikipedia) and earning himself the longest jail term legally possible. Proof of age is no proof of competence nor honesty.

With our ageing society, and with a falling fertility ratio, it will be no surprise that the day will come when banks have to bend over backwards to serve the expanding pool of financially well-off, asset-rich, emotionally stable, sensible seniors who have contributed in no small way to the economy.
I agree that seniors and retirees have enough cash for many outlays but a credit card is convenient when you buy things online for instance. Some banks' Black card, e.g. Stanchart's, offer concessions to overseas golf courses which are useful to save on the green fees. However, like Maybank, Stanchart is short sighted and rejects applications for the black card.

The rich whose 'money is where their mouth is' will have NO PROBLEM obtaining credit in so far as they guarantee such credit with an equal and equivalent amount collateral in terms of assets or fixed deposits (FD). Upon their demise, the bank can conveniently close their accounts and return the excess of such pledged accounts to the administrators of the deceased estate.

Aren't seniors susceptible too, by the seduction of easy monies from gaming at our two spanking new casinos?

The 'black card' that you have mentioned and according to Wikipedia 'Black card' is issued by Amex and typically invitees include those with annual incomes > 0.6 million euros and with assets worth > 4.5million euros. It is laughable for you to suggest persons should qualify for such privilege just on the basis of age alone.

The result of more sub-prime mortgages and bad debts to banks would only result in more government bank bail-outs resulting in greater taxes on the entire population and greater pressures on the working young to pay taxes, either direct or indirect through an increased cost of living.

With govt debt across the world at an all time high today (USA=1xGDP, Japan = 2x GDP); no wonder the pressures upon the young to be ever more 'productive' in unnatural and pressurized working environments that perhaps the falling fertility ratio amongst the young in the advanced world is no surprise today.

The governments of today have spent on the premise of recalcitrant inflation tomorrow. We are neither responsible nor mature adults to hand over a life of refractory inflation to our descendents.

Let us not die in in the midst of an unpaid debt to our nation's descendents.

Originally Posted by kingrant

We all grow old one day and become senior status. The TS is no exception. Unless he dies early, one day he will also face such a situation. His children will call him old, greedy and demanding. So why the axe to grind? Bad for karma.

Those who DO NOT place their 'money where their mouth is' are irresponsible seniors, they have no right to an unsecured credit card, period.     

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02Oct2011: Banks should be careful when granting credit to these greedy old Singaporeans.