Banks get guidelines on treating customers fairly

4 April 2009

The Editor
Forum Page
Straits Times

I refer to the article “Banks get guide on treating customers fairly” (ST 4 April).

I congratulate the Monetary Authority of Singapore for taking the appropriate steps to address this issue. However, may I raise a matter of public concern?

Does this imply that in the past, it was all right for the banks to treat customers unfairly? For example, was it all right for a bank to design a complex financial product that give a poor return for the risks embedded in the product and sell the product to an unwary public, without disclosing the relevant information that are available and known by the product issuer?

Were there already laws in place that were supposed to protect the consumers against unfair or predatory practices?

I recall that there were specific requirements under the existing section 199 and 200 of the Securities and Futures Act and under Section 27 of the Financial Adviser’s Act.

A petition was signed by 983 people who alleged that they were misled into investing in several credit-linked notes, such as the Mini-bonds, High Notes, Pinnacle Notes and Jubilee Notes. This petition was lodged with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on 8 October 2008. It requested the MAS or the Attorney General to investigate if there were breaches of relevant provisions under the existing law.

To my knowledge, there was no announcement on the outcome of the investigation, or if such an investigation had been conducted.

If the investment banks that created the products or the financial institutions that sold the products had failed in their duty under the existing law, surely it is the responsibility of the authority to charge them in court and allow the matter to be decided by the court?

If the court had found that the law was vague, then a subsequent step should be taken to clarify the law through new legislation or regulations.

Let me illustrate with this example. Someone broke into a house and took away an expensive notebook computer. The owner lodges a report to the Police. Should the Police now issue a new guide to explain what is house-breaking and theft? Surely, it is the duty of the Police to charge the culprit, with sufficient evidence, and let the court decide on the matter, based on the existing law?

Tan Kin Lian