Shame, depression, anger, desperation and worst of all fear. These are just some of the emotions investors are displaying as they struggle with their savings.
A month after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, people who bought structured products linked to the failed bank continue to make the rounds of banks, brokerages and Hong Leong Finance, which sold them the products, trying to get answers.
Reporters covering the stories of retirees who bought the products sometimes find themselves in the role of counsellors.
Mary Kwok, 75, illiterate and blind in one eye since her 40s, said that she has thought of suicide.
'I told my MP I'll commit suicide when I run out of money and have no food,' Madam Kwok said in Cantonese.
She invested $400,000 of her hard-earned money in Minibonds sold by Maybank. And now she is bewildered that her signature on forms that said she understood the products can be used against her. 'Everyone knows you have to sign when you open an account or put money in a bank,' she said.
Although a Maybank executive has contacted Madam Kwok to ask how she was sold the product, she is scared the bank will twist her words. 'Now I don't want to sign anything, even holding a pen makes me tremble,' she said.
'I paid $100,000 to learn about the credit event,' a 64-year-old said bitterly outside DBS Bank's Shenton Way branch yesterday morning.
He was among 11 DBS investors who turned up to complain about being mis-sold the product and found themselves surrounded by reporters and the bank's security guards.
An attempt to protest outside DBS had been called off after the police warned it would be illegal.
'I'm ashamed. Losing money is not something to be proud of,' said a man who did not want to give his name, before he and his wife were ushered into the DBS auditorium.
DBS staff laid refreshments in the auditorium while talking to the customers. Reporters were not allowed in and at one point were asked to leave by security guards.
DBS spokeswoman Karen Ngui said that discussions went well and the investors left reassured that the bank is looking into their cases. DBS has said that it will take responsibility if the evidence shows that there was mis-selling.
A Mr Lin, 78, said that he cannot rest. 'My child said no need to think too much, I will support you,' he said, before breaking down. 'I can't sleep and my child said he does not want me to fall sick.' Mr Lin and his wife had invested $100,000 in Minibonds just three months ago in July. He had bought the Minibonds from Hong Leong Finance. Over at OCBC Securities, emotions ran high in the afternoon when a dozen investors went to file complaints and found the situation surreal.
A Mr Yap told BT the group was brought to a room where the heads of compliance, customer service and alternative investments met them for over two hours.
'It started off well until the head of compliance said OCBC Securities is just an order executor which doesn't give advice on whether products are suitable or not,' said Mr Yap, who invested more than $100,000 in Minibonds.
He said that voices were raised when some investors felt OCBC Securities was trying to distance itself from the selling.
A Mrs Lee, who was with the group, said: 'If they are not selling, and mis-selling can only come about if there is selling, so how can there be mis-selling? I found the whole thing weird,' said Mrs Lee, who bought Minibonds after attending sales briefings at OCBC Centre.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has said that about 10,000 people bought a total of $639 million of the failed investment products.
This article was first published in The Business Times on October 16, 2008.
