Couple of good questions asked by Low Thia Khiang on this proposed fair dealing guidelines which arises from the mis-selling of financial products.
http://www.wp.sg/wordpress/2009/02/pmo-mas-fair-dealing-guidelines/
Chairman Sir, in February 2008, MAS released a consultation paper on proposed Guidelines on Fair Dealing.
The proposed Guidelines focus on the role of the board and senior management of financial institutions or FI in leading their companies to deliver fair dealing outcomes to retail consumers.
The proposed Guidelines amongst others, seeks to build consumer confidence that FI will put their interests first in the conduct of their business and to offer products and services suitable for the targeted consumer segment as well as to handle consumer complaints promptly and in a consistent manner.
As these proposed Guidelines are in line with one of the supervisory objectives of the MAS, I would like to ask the Minister 4 questions.
1. We all know that the board and senior management of FI will always put the interest of their company first. They have a duty to ensure their company is well-managed and profitable. Thus, in any dispute with consumers, no FI will readily admit to any wrong doing.The collapse of Lehman Brothers in Sep 2008 and the resulting meltdown of the financial market have made investors of structured products even more skeptical of FI on the issue of fair dealing. In a press release on 2 Oct 2008, MAS stated that it understood the anxiety of many investors and has identified three well-respected independent persons or IPs to oversee the complaints handling and resolution processes of FI for the failed structured products linked to Lehman Brothers.
IPs were also tasked to determine whether these internal processes of FI are independent, fair and transparent.
My question is, does the minister still believe that the proposed Guidelines on Fair Dealing can be effectively administered by the board and senior management of FI given that MAS has embraced the importance of IPs to assure consumers that they will be given a fair hearing by FI on the issue of mis-selling?
2. Would the Guidelines on Fair Dealing for FI be considered complete without the input of consumers? Would MAS consider releasing a consultation paper via groups like the Consumer Association of Singapore or the Securities Investors Association of Singapore for consumers to feedback on their experience with FI over the issue of fair dealing since we have about 10,000 affected investors of failed structured products to date?
3. When does MAS intend to implement the Guidelines on Fair Dealing for FI?
4. How is MAS going to monitor the compliance of the Guidelines on Fair Dealing by FI? Or is MAS going to consider it job done once the guideline is accepted for implementation by the FIs?
http://www.wp.sg/wordpress/2009/02/pmo-mas-fair-dealing-guidelines/
Chairman Sir, in February 2008, MAS released a consultation paper on proposed Guidelines on Fair Dealing.
The proposed Guidelines focus on the role of the board and senior management of financial institutions or FI in leading their companies to deliver fair dealing outcomes to retail consumers.
The proposed Guidelines amongst others, seeks to build consumer confidence that FI will put their interests first in the conduct of their business and to offer products and services suitable for the targeted consumer segment as well as to handle consumer complaints promptly and in a consistent manner.
As these proposed Guidelines are in line with one of the supervisory objectives of the MAS, I would like to ask the Minister 4 questions.
1. We all know that the board and senior management of FI will always put the interest of their company first. They have a duty to ensure their company is well-managed and profitable. Thus, in any dispute with consumers, no FI will readily admit to any wrong doing.The collapse of Lehman Brothers in Sep 2008 and the resulting meltdown of the financial market have made investors of structured products even more skeptical of FI on the issue of fair dealing. In a press release on 2 Oct 2008, MAS stated that it understood the anxiety of many investors and has identified three well-respected independent persons or IPs to oversee the complaints handling and resolution processes of FI for the failed structured products linked to Lehman Brothers.
IPs were also tasked to determine whether these internal processes of FI are independent, fair and transparent.
My question is, does the minister still believe that the proposed Guidelines on Fair Dealing can be effectively administered by the board and senior management of FI given that MAS has embraced the importance of IPs to assure consumers that they will be given a fair hearing by FI on the issue of mis-selling?
2. Would the Guidelines on Fair Dealing for FI be considered complete without the input of consumers? Would MAS consider releasing a consultation paper via groups like the Consumer Association of Singapore or the Securities Investors Association of Singapore for consumers to feedback on their experience with FI over the issue of fair dealing since we have about 10,000 affected investors of failed structured products to date?
3. When does MAS intend to implement the Guidelines on Fair Dealing for FI?
4. How is MAS going to monitor the compliance of the Guidelines on Fair Dealing by FI? Or is MAS going to consider it job done once the guideline is accepted for implementation by the FIs?
