Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Treat all investors fairly

Friday, October 24, 2008

Treat all investors fairly

Dear Mr. Tan,
I appreciate the good work you have done todate.

It is wrong to give priority to the so-called vulnerable group because this implies that the vulnerable group has a Right for full compensation whilst those outside it do not have such a Right. You can somehow discern that the FIs are driving in that directions.

If the aim of giving priority to the vulnerable group is to prevent immediate financial hardship because he or she needs immediate cash as otherwise he or she has to seek government help, then that is understandable. I believe those elderly investors' fund were not "daily expense savings".

In such a case, then education and knowing the English language is NOT a criteria to be used to define the vulnerable group. We therefore need MAS to state that education is not a criteria. Mis-selling (as defined in the ST today) is mis-selling. It has nothing to do with the educational level of the investor.

Albert Tan
tan4tell@yahoo.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Mr Tan, would you like to post this on your main blog? Thank you.

It is from The Standard

Legco raps shortcomings in minibonds monitoring

Diana Lee

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Legislative Council has passed a motion and three amendments to criticize the government for failing to monitor the sale of Lehman Brothers minibonds and other products by financial institutions and banks.
Lawmakers also called for strengthening the protection of investors' interests and preventing any recurrence.

But banking sector legislator David Li Kwok-po said he hoped the issue would not be "politicized."

A bank is just the agent of the minibonds and selling them has been approved by the authorities, Li said.

"The banks have no obligation to conduct buyback deals with customers. They responded to market demand and were also taking risks."

Li's remarks raised the hackles of unionist Lee Cheuk-yan. "The banks abused the trust of the public," Lee said.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Association of Banks said the first Lehman minibond buyback exercise can be conducted in early December.

The Consumer Council said at least one complainant had sought assistance from its legal action fund to file a lawsuit.

A source said the Securities and Futures Commission expects banks to do their own review of the cases.

The source said the SFC has no plans to launch a blanket solution on compensation as it prefers banks to decide for themselves.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it received two proposals to restructure Lehman products, a move that could help investors recoup some losses.

HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore), the trustee for the minibonds, said two international financial institutions have offered to restructure the notes to allow them to run to maturity.

DBS said total customer compensation in Singapore and Hong Kong will be around HK$362 million.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_print.asp?art_id=73338&sid=21122158; October 24, 2008 1:07 PM
Anonymous said...: I have a 83 year old father , a 75 year old mother, and two children who are still in secondary school depend on me, and I am unemployed, I think I am in the 'vulnerable group' also.; October 24, 2008 1:12 PM
whattodo said...: Totally agree with the point that "mis-selling" is "mis-selling", it has nothing to do with age,education, income level etc. Does that mean if I were to deceive someone who is young and educated, it is no crime at all? Find it hard to believe.; October 24, 2008 2:06 PM
Anonymous said...: "Treat all investors fairly"

"I have a 83 year old father , a 75 year old mother, and two children who are still in secondary school depend on me, and I am unemployed, I think I am in the 'vulnerable group' also."

I have no comment for these. I am beyond words trying to explain the difference between thinking and being thought of.; October 24, 2008 7:24 PM