HIGH net worth individuals will be enjoying increased spending power in the months to come as banks take advantage of relaxed rules on credit card limits.

Standard Chartered is already offering well-off customers a card with considerably higher credit limits, and Citibank is promising something similar 'soon'.

Previous limits had been set at two times the monthly income - both for credit cards and unsecured bank loans - and applied to people earning at least $30,000 a year.

But these were freed up on March 1 under changes to the credit card provisions of the Banking Act.

One change exempts credit card issuers from limits when issuing cards to people earning at least $120,000 a year or those with net personal assets of at least $2 million.

This means banks can extend any amount of credit they choose to their customers in top income brackets.

StanChart has taken the lead with its new Visa Infinite credit card that was launched on March 24.

The card provides customers earning more than $120,000 a year with a credit limit of up to 10 times their monthly income, as well as other rewards based on the customer's total relationship with the bank.

It caters to the bank's priority banking customers, which comprise a significant portion of its customer base.

Said Ms Ngo Min Ying, StanChart's general manager for premium banking: 'We estimate that out of the pool of customers that have reported income, about two out of every five of them have an annual income of $120,000 or more.'

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.