SET looks to bank networks for boost in security accounts

Charamporn Jotikasthira, president of the SET, said yesterday that the bourse wants to expand securities accounts and sees the customer bases of commercial banks as fertile grounds for cultivating stock investors.
The investment returns in the capital market are higher than the interest rates of the banking industry, and equity investment can also beat inflation, he said. If banks can encourage their customers to open stock trading accounts, the SET believes it could more than double the number of accounts in the not-too-distant future.
The SET is promoting investment opportunities through multiple channels, of which banks is one of the biggest. Earlier, the SET brought out the banker-to-broker programme to highlight banks as an investment channel.
Stock investors are required to open a trading account. The quick approval process for opening a stock trading account at a bank, normally three to five days, will convince investors to join
 in trading, he added. SCB Securities (SCBS) and its parent Siam Commercial Bank are the first in the local brokerage industry to offer one-day approvals for stock trading accounts.
SCBS trialled the system with 42 branches in commercial areas over the past two months and added about 1,000 accounts, mostly from bank customers.
The bank expects to expand the customer base via this channel by over 5,000 accounts next year. Every SCB branch will be available in the second quarter of 2013, said Phanporn Kongyingyong, a first executive vice president and head of the branch network division.
The bank has 2,500 single licence staff at its branches who can help recommend to depositors wanting to invest in the capital market to open a stock trading account.
The fast approval process is expected to encourage existing customers and new investors to take an interest in the capital market.
Stock trading accounts would also provide an opportunity for the bank to cross-sell products to new customers, she added.