In the current liquid conditions, therefore, the large banks have been able to cut their standard savings rate. They are therefore seen by some analysts as the winners from deregulation since they now have another lever to adjust their net interest margin. The unanswered question is whether they will be able to get away without a significant erosion of deposits in savings and current accounts. A certain amount of switching of accounts has gone on. But there is not enough evidence at this stage to conclude whether deregulation has resulted in any significant redistribution of deposits among banks. So we cannot tell how interest elastic the demand for savings accounts may prove to be, particularly in today's somewhat artificial conditions of high liquidity. However, what can be said is that deregulation does offer the smaller banks an enhanced ability to compete for savings accounts and for those customers which the large banks may be less eager to retain. While the smaller banks may have to pay a higher rate for their savings deposits, they will still benefit if they can substitute such funds for even higher cost, and less stable, time deposits. Consumers will also benefit from deregulation through greater choice of savings products and, for those with larger balances at least, from higher interest rates. However, we have to face the fact that not all depositors will be better off in the deregulated world.
David Carse: The changing landscape of banking in Hong Kong Speech by Mr David Carse, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, to the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, Furama Hotel, Hong Kong, 15 August 2001. *  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for inviting me to speak to you at the Association's luncheon. My topic today is the changing landscape of banking in Hong Kong. I shall illustrate this by reference to two of the key recent events that are changing that landscape and are going to go on doing so in the years ahead. I am referring to the deregulation of interest rates, the final phase of which took place on 3 July of this year, and the introduction of the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme. I will try to describe the implications of these for the banking industry and for the regulators. I will also try to place them in the context of the broader trends and developments that are taking place in the banking industry. Current industry trends You are probably already familiar with some of these trends and developments. The most obvious one is the increasing intensity of competition. This is a global phenomenon, whose full effects have only recently hit Hong Kong. It has shown here up in the sharp decline in lending margins, particularly on residential mortgages.