It was the fourth such rally but investors still came by the hundreds to hear Mr Tan Kin Lian speak in Hong Lim Park yesterday.
The former chief executive of NTUC Income told a 500-strong crowd at Speakers' Corner that he and his committee - made up of investors who bought Lehman- linked structured products - are in talks with lawyers about taking legal action against banks which sold the products.
In the case of DBS High Notes 5, investors who were not mis-sold the product stand to lose every cent put in.
The lawyers' advice is to start preparing for the case now, even if it does not go to court eventually.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Tan said he and his committee were prompted to take action after many investors said they had their complaints rejected by the banks.
While they can lodge complaints with the Financial Industry Dispute Resolution Centre (Fidrec), Mr Tan said they have no confidence that the issues will be addressed.
'We would still like to put the legal action as the last resort, but in the meantime, the lawyers advise that these things do take a lot of time to prepare, so we will be asking the investors to attend briefings, so they can give their intent to join the collective legal action.'
He personally hopes that they will not go to court.
Instead, he hopes that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will act on the group's latest petition submitted yesterday.
Bearing 1,017 signatures, it urges MAS to set up an independent unit to receive complaints and help the investors to write their statements.
They also want MAS to encourage the financial institutions to adopt a collective approach in offering fair compensation to investors who were mis-sold risky products.
What was clear yesterday was that disgruntled investors had become more organised.
Groups of volunteers - investors linked to DBS, Standard Chartered and Maybank - held up placards to identify themselves. Some gave out forms to those who had not listed grievances before.
Groups also huddled together to discuss their next move.
The Maybank group handed out fliers on their first meeting tomorrow at 7pm in Raffles Hospital.
While the mood was generally calm, several people were visibly distressed. They had received letters from DBS Bank just days ago to say their complaints had been rejected. They were eager to talk to reporters at the scene.
In his speech yesterday, Mr Tan urged investors to follow the example of DBS investors to press other banks to organise a forum.
He has put in a request with MAS to meet Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is the MAS chairman, or a top official next week.
An investor also gave a speech at the event yesterday.
Madam Ng A.M., 66, a former teacher, told The Sunday Times that she was inspired to come forward after hearing Mr Tan speak two weeks ago.
She did not buy any Lehman-linked structured products but felt cheated by a relationship manager who had sold her a product called DBS Star Track five years ago.
The latter had promised her high returns but she got only $2,928 from her five-year investment of $100,000.
'That is not enough for a dog,' she said. While she did not lose any money, her account was well received by the crowd who cheered her on.
While Mr Tan had mentioned talking to lawyers, investors told The Sunday Times they would try other avenues first.
One DBS High Notes 5 investor, Mr Alex Wu, 53, a civil servant, said: 'I don't want to pay good money for bad money.'
Another DBS High Notes 5 investor, a 60-year-old retiree who wanted to be known only as Madam Tham, said: 'We want to settle this harmoniously. This is still our national bank and we respect it.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 02, 2008.
