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SINGAPORE: DBS Bank has said it will review every High Notes 5 case, and its investor will know the outcome of the resolution process by the end of the year.
However, customers who turned up for the closed door dialogue session on the failed financial product remained dissatisfied. Heated discussions among investors continue even after the dialogue session on Thursday.
Despite DBS informing customers that those who have invested up to S$100,000 - as opposed to the current limit of S$50,000 - can take their case to the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC), investors remained dissatisfied with the bank.
An investor, T K Sew, said: "They come here with sort of a template, they answer questions... (by saying they) will go (on a) case-by-case basis... so it's irrelevant (to me)."
Managing director and head of consumer banking at DBS Bank, Rajan Raju, said: "There was obviously a lot of urgency from our customers to try and get a quick settlement, which regrettably we cannot do, because we have to establish a basis, get the facts together and then come to an outcome.
"I think as we go through this process, I'm fairly confident that by the time we finish this, (the) people will come back and look at it and say we have been fair in pretty much all the cases."
DBS said it has received some 500 complaints so far. It will review every case, even though not all of the 1,400 High Notes 5 customers have lodged complaints.
Raju said: "All 1,400 (cases) will be finished by the end of the year. Every case has a timeline of 4 weeks. We're doing it on a first come, first served basis. There are a few cases where we are fast tracking, but by the end of the year, every single High Notes 5 investor will know."
DBS said it has started compensating investors, but it does not want to disclose the amount or the number of investors it has paid out to.
Another investor said: "There must be some compensation, it can't be we get nothing."
DBS has given all its customers an investor complaint form, which establishes, among other things, if there was mis-selling.
DBS said these are responses that investors will also have to provide if they take their case to FIDReC. However, investors maintain that they want to be fairly treated, regardless of whether they fall into the vulnerable category or not.
On this, DBS said some of its relationship managers have been suspended and reported to MAS.
The bank's independent external adviser, Gerald Ee, wants to assure investors of equitable treatment.
He said: "It's important I have a feel of what the customers are saying and feeling so that when we look at the files, I take all these into consideration. And if a hundred over customers are saying one thing, I will look for patterns when I review the files."
Touching on the regulation process, Ee urges all customers to tell it as it is.
He said: "I think it's important that customers understand that giving a standard response, or what I have heard on the grapevine, templates of replies, doesn't help the situation... If the relationship managers fill in the form and ask them to sign, say it and then we will verify how that has happened."
DBS will be meeting its High Notes 2 investors on Friday, with more dialogues planned for its High Notes 5 investors next week.
- CNA/yt
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