China Daily:Settlements complicate Lehman inquiry

HONG KONG: Investigations of financial institutions that sold Lehman Brothers minibonds became more difficult after some complainants in the case reached separate settlements, Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam said yesterday.

Yam made the revelation Friday as he was grilled by legislators in the Legislative Council subcommittee hearing on the Lehman Brothers products disaster.

"We can still get the information we need from banks," he said. "However, we cannot make verification with the investors (under terms of settlement agreements, investors are prohibited from disclosing information about their individual cases). That makes our investigation difficult."

Yam's revelation immediately drew criticism from subcommittee members. James To accused the authority of protecting the banks.

"How can you let this happen to hinder your investigation?" he demanded.

Yam defended the authority, countering that it could not stop investors from settling their complaints with the banks that sold the instruments.

"If we imposed restrictions on banks because of the difficulty involved in the investigations, the investors may not be able to reach settlements and get back their money. That is not fair to them," he said.

Yam, who will retire in October, has been grilled by the subcommittee on six occasions. Friday's hearing saw repetition of earlier incidents, with Yam's testimony interrupted by shouts from angry investors in the public gallery. Subcommittee chairman Raymond Ho Chung-tai was forced to call five-minute adjournments on two occasions so that the furor from the gallery could be quieted.

Financial services sector legislator Chim Pui-chung and Hong Kong Island constituency legislator Regina Ip said the authority failed to prevent banks from employing hard-sell tactics to persuade investors to buy Lehman Brothers financial products.

"One of the investors purchased the product through her daughter working in the banks. The daughter has not gone through any training. The bank hires her, and she is just trying hard to sell the products to her relatives as well. It is a problem for banks to set a selling quota for the staff to achieve," she said.

Yam reiterated that the authority does not tolerate irregular sales practices and will deal with the matter seriously.

"If the investors, under the cold call practice, are not interested in the product, and the investors purchased the products simply because the banks or agents called them saying they have money in their accounts, this will not be tolerated," he said.

He said the authority asked about 50 banks to conduct self-assessments in 2008.

He added that the authority would be more thorough when assessing banks in the future.

The authority deputy chief executive Choi Yiu-kwan will give evidence at a hearing of the subcommittee in June. But chairman Ho said legislators intend to recall Yam to give further evidence after Choi's testimony.