news-minibond_investors_sue

Channel NewsAsia, 11 September 2009
Minibond investors sue Royal Bank of Scotland

SINGAPORE: A group of investors who had lost money in Lehman Brothers Minibonds has begun legal action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in a bid to recoup their losses.

They are taking RBS to court for allegedly misleading them into buying the toxic products. RBS is being sued because it bought over ABN—AMRO, which had sold the Minibonds to the investors.

The group of about 170 investors call themselves the Minibond Investors Action Group or MIAG. Among them, they had invested a total of S$20 million, with most of them putting in between S$150,000 and S$200,000 each.

They are not what the government considers "vulnerable" investors — that is, those over 62 years old and who have primary school qualifications.

The "vulnerable class" has had some success in gaining compensation after the Monetary Authority of Singapore intervened early this year.

But an MIAG member told Channel NewsAsia that the prospectus was so confusing it would not have been understood even by sophisticated investors. He also said the bank did not do its duty by making sure the product was safe.

Chung Wing Kee, an MIAG committee member, said: "If the financial institution had told me that ’actually it’s not bonds we’re selling, we just use the word ’minibonds’ to bring you in’, it’s not bonds, it’s a complex instrument, I won’t touch it!"

Mr Chung said that going to FIDReC, which is the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre, will not allow the investors to recover the bulk of their investments. That is because FIDReC has a cap of S$50,000 against which claims can be made.

He said the group’s members are confident they have a good chance of winning, and based on the success of Minibond investors in Hong Kong, they are hoping to get back at least 70 per cent of their investment capital.

And this will not be the last lawsuit by MIAG. The investors had bought products from 10 financial institutions. If they succeed in their case against RBS, they will initiate lawsuits against the others.