History
The Post Office Savings Bank, part of the Postal Services Department (prior to independence) was established on 1 January 1877 in the General Post Office Building, in Raffles Place by the British Colonial Government in Singapore. The bank had a relatively glorious past; by 1951, the bank had its 100,000th depositor, and followed a slow decline after the reaching its peak in 1955.
It was only after independence when the then Minister for Finance, Goh Keng Swee, who rediscovered the potential of the bank to develop the infrastructure of the infant city-state.
In 1972, the Post Office Savings Bank, or commonly referred as the POSB or POSBank by then, was made a statutory board under the Ministry of Communications. Prior to the consolidation, the Post Office Savings Bank Act of 1971 was passed to govern the structure and operational efficiency of the bank. In 1974, POSBank was transferred to become part of the Ministry of Finance; Credit POSB Pte Ltd was established in the same year to provide custom-tailored loans relating to HDB housing ownership.
By 1976, POSBank had one million depositors, while deposits crossed the S$1 billion mark. In 1980, it introduced the Passcard, and set-up the Principal Branch. In 1981, its first Cash-On-Line ATM opened at the Newton Branch. In 1983, its headquarters were shifted to the new 8-storey complex, the POSBank Centre at Bras Basah Road. In 1984, the current account facility was introduced, and by 1986, deposits crossed the S$10 billion mark.
The Post Office Savings Bank was renamed as POSBank in March 1990. It was subsequently fully acquired by DBS Bank on 16 November 1998 for S$1.6 billion; at the same time, ceased to exist as a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance. POSBank still operates one of the highest number of bank branches in Singapore, especially in the suburban neighbourhoods, and operates the highest number of ATM outlets throughout Singapore. The integration of both banks allowed customers of either bank to share the facilities; DBS Bank depositors may use the Cash Deposit Machine installed islandwide in POSBank branches, likewise for POSBank depositors.
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