Three cheers for CJ

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said in a written judgment: “In the light of the many allegations made against many financial institutions for ‘mis-selling’ complex financial products to linguistically and financially illiterate and unwary customers during the financial crisis in 2008, it may be desirable for the courts to reconsider whether financial institutions should be accorded full immunity for such ‘misconduct’ by relying on non-reliance clauses which unsophisticated customers might have been induced or persuaded to sign without truly understanding their potential legal effect on any form of misconduct or negligence on the part of the relevant officers in relation to the investment recommended by them.”

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120817-0000042/Non-reliance-clauses–Time-to-reconsider?

Related posts:

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/hong-leong-finance-sues-morgan-stanley-for-deception-selling-investments-designed-to-fail/

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/helping-retail-investors-the-hk-way-and-the-spore-way/

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/what-abt-high-notes-sm-goh/

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/sporeans-get-justice-in-us/

Helping retail investors: the HK way and the S’pore way

The speculation in the MSM that MAS’s MD had resigned  so that he could join MAS board members GCT, Tharman and Hng Kiang in the cabinet reminded me of the different ways HK and S’pore helped retail investors affected by the default of structured products connected with Lehman Brothers .

Sixteen banks in HK have recently agreed to buy back the minibonds that they sold to 31,000 (out of 43,000 investors) for up to 96.5% of their face value. Bloomberg  An estimated 4 percent of note holders would get at least 90 percent of their investments back, and 65 percent of those eligible would get 80 percent to 90 percent.

In S’pore, 1088 investors  (12.2% of minibonders) received the face value of their minibonds. So percentage-wise, the government here did better in getting the distributors to be more compassionate: to the elderly and those with only a primary six education.