DBS will take responsibility, in some cases

TodayOnline

DBS Bank says it will take responsibility for some of the Lehman Brothers products sold through its network in Singapore and Hong Kong if there was mis-selling.

“In specific cases when evidence of mis-selling is established, DBS (Hong Kong) Limited and DBS Bank (Singapore) will take responsibility,” the bank said yesterday.

It issued the statement in reply to queries about a recent report in the South China Morning Post that said it would consider full compensation for losses on one of Lehman’s structured products sold in Hong Kong if its investigations showed that buyers had been misled by the bank’s sales staff.

DBS also pointed out in a separate statement last night that customers in Singapore who had bought High Notes 5, a structured product sold with Lehman as one of the reference entities, may not get a cent back.

The collapse of Lehman triggered the early redemption of High Notes 5 and the unwinding process has begun.

“We expect that the final valuation of the Notes, which is market determined,

will be completed on or around Oct 31. In the worst case scenario, customers could lose their entire investment,” it said.

The bank has since set up dedicated Investor Care Centres in Hong Kong and Singapore, manned by experienced staff specially trained to handle queries about the troubled structured products.

Mr Rajan Raju, DBS’ managing director and head of consumer banking, added: “More than 300 customers have approached our Investor Care Centre and we are addressing their concerns about their investments. As soon as each case is reviewed, DBS will inform the respective customers of the outcome.”

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/281348.asp