Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Follow up action on MAS investigation report

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Follow up action on MAS investigation report

The report released by MAS has been disappointing. The financial institutions that were found to be breached the regulation have been banned from selling structured products for 6 to 24 months. This will not affect them financially, as the sale of structured products have virtually disappeared during the past months, and is unlikely to revive over the next two years.

More importantly, the mis-guided investors, who have lost a large sum of savings in these products and were looking for some compensation for their loss, had their hopes dashed. They posted their views strongly in this blog.

There were reports that investors in Hong Kong are likely to get compensation of 60% to 70%. Someone worked out that the compensation paid to Singapore investors to be less than 20% (but this is not verified due to lack of complete information).

During the past two weeks, I have been talking to lawyers and the insurance broker to see if the "after the event" insurance can be obtained for investors who wish to take legal action against the distributor on the legal grounds of mis-representation. They are several obstacles to be overcomed, but I am working on them.

If the obstacles can be overcomed, investors (who are not involved in any existing class action) can consider a new class action to be arranged. The larger investors can consider taking individual legal action. I like to ask you to complete this survey, to see if there is sufficient interest.

A team of volunteers is helping me to plan a gathering of investors at Speaker's Corner in Hong Lim Park on Saturday 22 August 2009 at 5 p.m. Keep the date free. If you wish to help in the organisation, you can join this Google Group.

On a separate matter, I like to ask investors to write your story for publication in a book. Share your experience with the future generation. Write your story to cover how you were misled into investing in the toxic product and the months of agony that you went through in trying to get compensation. You can send them to me at kinlian@gmail.com.

Tan Kin Lian

16 comments:

Anonymous said...: MAS - we want 100% of our money back from the bankdits !!! Who cares about the 6 months ban !!! Are you really helping us or is this just your smoke screen to divert the issue so as to help the banks absolve of their responsibility when they have clearly flouted regulations ???; July 08, 2009 6:23 AM
Anonymous said...: HK SFC got at least 60% compensation for Minibond investors and our MAS is only saying 6 months no-selling ban ?????

MAS - are you joking or putting up a Chinese opera show ??? Can we tax payers cut your multi-million dollar salaries by 60% if that is all you can do ????; July 08, 2009 6:35 AM
Anonymous said...: There are
35.4% for MBB with ZERO compensation,
35.4% for MBB with < 50% compensation.

(see MAS statement annex 2); July 08, 2009 8:07 AM
Anonymous said...: ALL HK investors are compensated at least 60%. Most in Singapore, including myself, get NOTHING!

Not only the financial institutions, I cannot trust MAS is capable as a regulator anymore.; July 08, 2009 10:21 AM
Anonymous said...: After many months of thorough investigations and MAS had confirmed there were mis-sellings from the FIs, it is better for the FIs to behave like a gentleman and compensate the customers. Trying to avoid responsibility will definitely leave a bad image for themsleves and damage our country's image as a Financial Hub.
Make a mistake, Face it.; July 08, 2009 10:32 AM
Anonymous said...: UOBKH has 315 investors and received 150 complaints - the HIGHEST % of complaint among the stockbroking firms. That is, for every 2 investors 1 complained they were missold. However, UOBKH compensated only 5% of the complaints - the LOWEST among the stockbroking firms.
- Doesn't MAS find UOBKH compensation process questionable?

In addition, UOBKH compensated the LOWEST value of 1% !!!

MAS should review UOBKH more thoroughly !!!; July 08, 2009 10:38 AM
Anonymous said...: 66.6% who voted for PAP in 2006 GE may not buy the mis-selling products, so MAS has to take care the interests of these supporters and the mis-selling FIs may be just one of these 66.6% supporters that mis-sold the products?

Wake up investors, this is not HK and S'pore will never be like HK in many years to come!; July 08, 2009 11:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Yes we investors have certainly woken up with a rude shock. We will not vote the same way in the next general election. It has been an expensive lesson.; July 08, 2009 1:01 PM
Anonymous said...: I am very disappointed with MAS. The Hong Kong Authority is at least trying to get as much as possible for investors of toxic products.

Singaporeans by nature are well behaved people and yet our government is doing nothing to help get our money back.

Can we take to the street like Hong Kong people?

So, I think we all know what to do with the next general election.; July 08, 2009 3:32 PM
Anonymous said...: I have read the report and from my perspective, it is a joke!; July 08, 2009 6:13 PM
Anonymous said...: The follow up action after the MAS report is to take legal action, and then cast your vote wisely, do not squander your votes like the way the FI squandered our hard earned savings.; July 08, 2009 9:22 PM
Anonymous said...: ATTN: Treasure customers!!
According to the press release, you were not compensated because you had money in the bank and you were under 60.
(So it's ok because you can afford the loss and pay for their lies!!!!)
http://www.dbs.com.sg/newsroom/2009/Pages/press090708.aspx

"Two out of three HN5 customers are DBS Treasures priority banking customers who have a minimum of SGD 200,000 in cash and/or investments
80% of HN5 customers are below age 60"; July 08, 2009 11:37 PM
Anonymous said...: After many months of thorough investigations and MAS had confirmed there were mis-sellings from the FIs.
What happen on the negligence on the part of MAS? Shouldn't "respectable"
MAS be pro-active rather than re-active and that should be their up most duties? Really 事后孔明 !
(Project as genius after the event!); July 09, 2009 5:01 PM
Anonymous said...: FRIENDS.
See this posting in another blog by 'maths teacher' which has a mathematical model guessing that singapore payout ratio could be 9.6%.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dear all,
Look at the key statistics
(a) Number complaint 5,551
(b) Case receive offers 3,607 or 67%
(c) Compensation Value $104.6 million
(d) Investment Value of case decided $324.5 million

33% sound good? You know why many are still disappointed.

It is the English. The 33% is the value of compensation vs the original investment value of ONLY those who are offered. ie there are still 1,194 cases (or 35%) not compensated. I am not surprised that these 35% of not-offered investors may comprised of at least 70% of the investment value complaint lodged. Hence, if you recalculated the "value of compensation" vs the "full investment value of ALL complaint", the Compensation Rate could be ONLY "9.6%".

[$104.6m^ / ($324.5m^^ + $324.5/0.3 *0.7^^^ = 9.6%]

Anyway, we are not able to calculate the compensation value, until MAS disclose the total investment value of those who lodged complaints.

Yours "Maths Teacher"

-------------------------------
Note ^ being amount compensated
Note ^^ being investment value of 30% investors who are offered
Note ^^^ being investment value of 70% investor who are NOT offered
(Assumption: 70% of investment value are not offered; although they may be 35% of the complained investors by headcount).

July 07, 2009 11:15 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^; July 09, 2009 8:02 PM
Dear All said...: If people say we buy Minibond with eyes open and know what we are buying then I have to say MAS approve this product with their eye wide open and know what toxics were sold to fellow citizen. MAS just want to compete to be the financial centre so they blindly follow what other major financial centres are doing.; July 10, 2009 10:55 PM
Anonymous said...: I am very disappointed with MAS. If you MAS only work for financial institutions, but not the majority of people in Singapore, how can you exist?; July 15, 2009 2:54 PM