Limited downside for ringgit?

Rising deposits: Customers leave a Maybank branch in Putrajaya. The amount of foreign currency deposits in local banks has grown by leaps and bounds since 2007 – Reuters

THE amount of foreign currency deposits held in local banks by individuals and companies has grown by leaps and bounds since 2007 -- an indication that the confidence in the local currency has been waning not now but from several years ago.

The clearest indicator is the foreign currency deposits held by individuals with banks in Malaysia. It has grown more than 18 times in the last eight years. In 2007, the total foreign currency deposits held by individuals in domestic banks in ringgit terms was RM820.3mil. As at end-July this year, it stood at RM14.430bil.