Saturday, August 01, 2009

Re-build the trust in the integrity and reputation of Singapore

I call on the banks and stockborking firms who are involved in selling the credit-linked notes in Singapore and Hong Kong to offer the same compensation to investors in Singapore that they offer to those in Hong Kong. The compensation is 60% to 70% of the invested sum, and any excess, if the proceeds on maturity exceed the amount of the compensation.

Do act early, to protect your repuation. Equally importantly, your action will rebuild the trust in the integrity and reputation of the the financial system in Singapore in providing honest dealing and fair treatment of customers. This will enhance the role of Singapore as a trusted financial hub of the region.

Tan Kin Lian


29 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are well respected for your effort.

Anonymous said...

The term "Introducer" is just a smoke screen used by the IFA to fool the clients.

The term "Execute-only" is just a smoke screen used by some Sec F to fool people.

Please don't think we are all stupid or fool.

Anonymous said...

Can't help but agreed with you more that DBS and all those stockbroking firms should do what GE have done.

If banks like DBS think that investors have short memory they are going to be very surpised.

I am one of those affected by the HN5 collapsed, DBS can be assured that none of my children or grandchildren will ever bank with them.

Anonymous said...

I strongly feel that MB and DBS high notes will be resolve especially with GE started the ball rolling in full refund of credit derivative product to policy holders. Why? Because:-

i) hugh negative impact on % support of the next election. Not only from the 10,000 investors, but the general public whose opinions have swing towards MB investors especially when HK payout at least 60%.

ii) Give opposition bullets to raise these issues during election rally. Probably why opposition is so quiet as Govt is digging their own grave at the moment.

iii) How is the Govt convince the people to have their own pay raise once economy starts booming?

iv) DBS business is in HK and Sgp. If DBS want to continue to survive in HK, it must make HK people happy. If they made HK people happy, then they must pay the same to Sgp investors. It will be political suicide if we are treated as 2nd class citizen. Why? DBS = MAS = Govt.

Just my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Don't bank with them? Not to worry, the image of old men and old women begging for their blood money back is still fresh in our mind. Worst still is if DBS pay compensation to HK High Notes investors, how can Sgp investors stomach it? Don't you know the Govt understand the severity. They will be either very arrogant or plain stupid if it remains status quote from now till election day.

Anonymous said...

Beside the so called detailed and thorough investigation carried out by MAS and the punishing imposed (what a joke), I do not believe this government will provide any further assistance to help investors recover their lost money from these failed structured products.

The number of affected investors may be in their thousands, but it constituted just 'a drop in the ocean' as far the total number of electorate in the next election is concern.

What I have realised from this structured products debacle is that; if you should fall outside the parameters set by this government in their so called business friendly policies, bless you friend, you are on your own.

Anonymous said...

"About 85 per cent of GreatLink Choice customers are between 30 and 60 years old, with females making up 65 per cent of all policyholders".

For MB, you must be above 65 years, below primary edu, and must bought from the banks of finance company b4 you could get back your money.
Even if you satisfy the above criteria, but bought from a sec broking firm, you may get 0. Is it fair??

Anonymous said...

Hi 8;28pm,

I doubt so. DBS senior management has been demonised and became "Damn Blood Sucker", they have no more consciense.

Anonymous said...

"It's a numbers game. GEL had 17,000 unhappy clients. "

It is very surprised that there are so many CLS product victims out there.

If they could join in and help Minimond bomd and pin nicker victims, the voices would be louder.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we cannot do anything to those Banks and FI, unless our MOST Trusted, Talented and Highest Paid People in the WORLD doing something to help.

I think is time to revise those talent and Highest salary people now after we have lost Billion $$$. The MONEY are not well spend on Top Talent.

Anonymous said...

Just imagine 10,000 Minbond invesotors. 18,000 GLC holders, 10,000 (?)Pinnacle,......
and their friends & relatives, it is a very big numbers.
If we could enlist their help (sign something for support), it may be useful.

Anonymous said...

The HK compensation is buying back total amount of minibonds from their customer at 60% or 70% of its cost.And the customer will not be getting any amount thereafter even if the proceed exceed the amount at maturity.Is that so?

Anonymous said...

UOB Kay Hian - Please do the right thing and compensate the minibonds victims !!!

Anonymous said...

"The 10 perils of success" - Today's paper.

My interpretation is: This is the first step to ask for Ministers' pay raise. Brain drain? Losing talent? Need to pay top $? I think this is a pure arrogant or plain stupid if they indeed ask for pay raise. Thumbs up for Minister of Health, while "need to retrench" appraisal for whoever looking after MAS. You don't pay $millions in yearly salary for two people in MAS while retail investors continue to suffer or running around getting bullied by the 10 FIs.

Imagine presently, there is a top talent who pays 50% tax, looking after the interest of 300 million people and draws a salary of US$250,000 a year, I call service to the nation while salary take a back seat.

We have ourselves to be blame for paying such high salary to Ministers. Imagine 7,500 people have to chase after a 1,000 gambling job in IR. But again, what can we do if they want to pay themselves so much? We are just suckers, living in a fantasy world.

I, a middle age graduate from local university, is a jobless floater who can only resign to fate and keep asking the question,"how much more do they want? Don't they think we baby boomers & middle age people are suffering quietly" Please wake up before we become another UMNO....

Anonymous said...

REX wish to comment as follows.

Well, this is the way it works on the Little REd Dot. For losing 50 billion dollars you can still get a pay rise of sorts in the form of a May-day medallion for some lucky "friend of Labour". At the other extreme the hapless little chaps on the little red dot are wondering how to survive today, tomorrow ten years down the road. It's an oddity.

I am perpetually puzzled about this endless "request for pay rise" thingy.

If you earn less than say $4,000 or 5,000 a month, fair enough, you can grumble for a pay rise. But if you earn $100,000 A MONTH, do you need a pay rise? How about $60,000 a month. Do you still want a pay rise? (Remember, such people have already been working 20 years odd on average, they also have personal savings already). Shouldn't job satisfaction and the desire to serve, be the primary priority when you reach such financial nirvana state?

Some people are even luckier. They earn already $100,000 per month, governing a country. Plus potential inheritance from an old man, the amount is unimaginable. The money is enough to keep them living in a private mansion like Michael Jackson did, far far away from the madding crowd - and - without debts, too.

Pray tell me, what do such people want to do with so much money - pass it to the children? That makes no sense, it weakens them and make them unable to survive in the wild when they grow up. You are destroying your children if you do such a thing.

In fact, today's Straits Times OCBC supplement showed me that having $300,000 is enough to live comfortably without working if I am already about 40'ish. I'll up that 10 times to $3 million, and i can bet you 90% or more, of many serving people here, already have this in either cash or assets. So why are they still kiasu to lose their job; i have a feeling many of them say things just to keep their job, and not in synch with their heart of hearts. They havent quite been able to think out of the box and never ever wondered, how refreshing it is to be able to speak from the heart and delivered from the torment of saying things they don't really mean to, of being enslaved to a master they might not fully respect, of being enslaved to a unreal fear that their money is no enough.

This national day, i challenge You, the politician who happen to be reading this, the top echelon editors of the daily papers, the super scaled government servant, to speak from Your heart of hearts whatever YOU think is correct, be not afraid to lose Your job, for You already made it and crossed the river. You are safe, very safe, my dear sirs and madames. Liberate yourself and speak like a real Singaporean should.

REX

Anonymous said...

UMNO was shake out of it's core after the last election. The govt recoil, regroup, reorganize, rethink and then make many decisions. Like teaching Science and Maths in Malay, get Anwar solomy charge up again, change PM. Seriously, after a while, what has change? Seems like they got confuse and head the opposite direction.

Do you think you will see change this national day? They read TKL site and then say, "don't worry, very small group of people. Near election, wayang again. Sure win."

Anonymous said...

If you earn $3 million a year, it means it is $250,000 a month.

Entry Minister level is $1.54 million. it means $128,000 per month. Why they want more?

One reason: Money forever not enough.
One word: Greedy

I felt like a real sucker.....Does not matter, I have over a million suckers keeping me company. Definitely, I will not be a sucker next round.

Anonymous said...

Hello Rex,
do you know many local graduates (middle age ones) are actually have been jobless for many years.

They are lucky because they have some savings. But some of them their savings have been eroded by mini-bomb and/or Pin needles.

Anonymous said...

Many of the 18,000 policy holders of the GLC were not aware of the danger of their GLS until the buy back by GEL.

There could be much more CLS products which we are aware of. Can they join in and sign?

One day (1-2 years later) they may wake up to find they "life savings" or "hard-earned savings" gone. So sad.

Anonymous said...

""ABOUT 1,000 Great Eastern Life agents have been asked to return up to $12.6 million in commissions received from policies they sold up to four years ago.""

So much money paid out as commissions.
A right move to return.

Anonymous said...

This crisis flag out the Good, the Bad and the NMP. [Not my problem]

The Good: Great Eastern
The Bad: 10 FIs who sold Minibonds
The NMP: MAS

Singaporeans are paying through your nose to support policies makers who are good in painting nice pictures, good in critizing other countries' but just cannot deliver when it comes to the Minibond. Maybe they should put statments on why they cannot, like :-

a) HK don't know what they are doing. They yield under people pressure.

b) We live by the law, MB investors signed on dotted line, they are responsible.

c) Is their fault, high risk high return. Not my problem.

d) HK is wrong. We can think clearly that's why we are paid millions a year.

e) We are more clever. 10,000 out of voting population is peanuts. No need to bother.

f) Singaporeans not interested in MB. We must teach them to think BIG. Let's talk about Unity, key to success, Minister pay raise, Terrorist, Singapore in 202020202020.........

g) $20,000 investment is peanuts. I cannot feel it as I earn $200,000 a month. 1 day $10,000 and work 2 days, all come back. Just put out statement "Banks name tarnished is bad enough", that's it, money in pocket. Easy money, man.

Anonymous said...

Mr.Tan,
has any FI contacted you to express their desire to refund and do the right thing?

Tan Kin Lian said...

I have complete silence from the banks, securities firms and MAS. (Scarcastic). They are not aware about the existence of this blog. Or better, to be blind and deaf. Why spend money?

Anonymous said...

They not aware of TKL blog? Maybe it's true. TC and grassroot people maybe helping to shield them from such truthful, honest message from the heartlanders.

I heard a story that when a company goes belly up, the people on the ground already know this is going to happen while the board of directors are still in the dark.

Maybe the govt/MAS is like that. Think that 10,000 is too nsignificant and focus on big picture like teaching heartlander what is HELICOPTER VIEW.

Anonymous said...

Talk to Tan Kian Lian? Dream on. See what happen to Ong Teng Cheong?

Totally no respect to the people's president who was trying to do his job. By right the most powerful person as he was voted in by Singaporeans.

Paying him $3.5 million a year is worth it and I believe he will give a significant amount to the charity. But now, don't know why all the people up there earn so much. Where is the sense of service to the country?

Anonymous said...

When I Kuo Tow to Mr. Tan initiative, dedication and time in helping all of us, I am worried for his well being. The Establishment may find way to shut down his blog as it is no good for their reputation and next election. We have seen too many cases of people lossing their shirt for going against the Establishment. Tax evasion, illegal donation, religion related etc.

Concern & Worried.

Anonymous said...

Victims of the toxic products are now fighting a uphill battle against two major force--the cheating syndicates and FIs, and the powerful backing force from MAS and several ministers and top leaders. They have already joined hand and try all means to destroy the innocent victims.
Two sayings in Chinese are well suit their words and deeds--官商勾结 and 狼狈为奸.
Why they are so arrogantly and turn a deaf ear to all the accusations and appeals and yet behaved as a holy god, the answer is a simple "greed".
MAS has done an investigation in the last few months, but what are the purpose if the findings are for their own use?MAS knew the truth and found the culprits of crime offenders. But they dared not bring the offenders to task in court. Worst of all, MAS covered up all FIs faults and shamelessly said the FIs are not liable for mis-selling.MAS made itself a laughing stock in the financial world by imposing a meaningless find to FIs.All in all just to avoid and incur loss to the FIs.
So that their earning profit would not be affected. Then C-man and V-C-man can claim credit that they were in good control of the issue. Then they can greedily ask for pay rise at the end of the year.
Similarly, ministers and top leaders ignored the fact of 600m from innocent victims swindled by the cheating syndicates even with their eyes opened,and shamelessly worried FIs's reputation were being tarnished,also made themselves a laughing stock in the financial world--that they were hopelessly incapable in handling the scandal. It is also because of "greed".Obviously
if the FIs done well, and the amount of profit they made from the swindling not easily taken away by the innocent victims then these top leaders can claim credit for the economy growth and ask for pay rise at the end of the year. You think they don't know that their pays are far far above of the supper world class standard? They knew it, but still have guts to ask for more.

Anonymous said...

lost complete trust in all FIs in Singapore and MAS (and thus all PAP Govt institutions} and sent moneys to a Hongkong bank to open an account for investment purposes. My whatever moneys left are safer in Hongkong,a province of Communist China. All FIs in Singapore won't pay another cent more, esp the brokerage firms. The only new investment I made recently was to open a 3 year Fixed deposit with Great Eastern at2.12% p.a. This F.D. investment expires on 28th Aug.

Anonymous said...

We the bigger victims have to resort to expensive legal action against the FIs who sold us the toxic Minibonds. We just pray and hope that the Courts are independent of the jaws of this PAP Govt. We feel suffucated by Govt who controlled all public institutions in Singapore. We feel being betrayed by a Govt whom we haved voted all theae years.
I have to resort to borrowing to fund my legal fees, and have to take medication for depression.

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