By Fiona Chan & Francis Chan

BANKS and finance companies should make it a priority to deal with worried investors holding structured products tied to the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said yesterday.

In its first specific comments on these precarious investments, MAS said that investors who 'consider that they were mis-sold a product or that a product was misrepresented to them' should first contact the financial institution they dealt with.

'MAS expects the financial institutions concerned to give priority in dealing with such queries and handle complaints promptly, in accordance with existing MAS requirements,' it said in a statement yesterday.

Insurance agents told: Don't poach

By Lorna Tan

INSURANCE agents were reminded yesterday that poaching customers - or agents from other firms - will not be condoned as it goes against industry best practices.

The warning from the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (Ifpas) came in response to talk that some agents were seen poaching customers at AIA's customer service centre at Finlayson Green last Friday.

Ifpas president MP Sellvem said: 'Attempts by agents to solicit clients by giving wrong reasons and playing up on poor customer sentiments would not be tolerated.'

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