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Singapore central bank investigates sale of Lehman products

Business Materials 18 October 2008 08:12 (UTC +04:00)

Singapore's central bank is investigating accusations of misconduct in the sale of investments packaged by the collapsed US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and other financial institutions (FIs) hit by the global financial crisis, news reports said Saturday, dpa reported.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore "confirms that we have been conducting formal inquiries into allegation of breaches of law, inadequate internal controls by the FIs or poor sales practices by their representatives," the authority said in a statement Friday.

It was the latest move by the central bank to help some of the 10,000 retail investors in Singapore who invested 500 million Singapore dollars (337.91 million US dollars) in financial products linked to Lehman Brothers.

The banks managing director, Heng Swee Keat, said the inquiry was focussing on cases of misselling to "vulnerable customers," referring to retirees, the elderly and people uneducated about investments.

Singaporeans who bought failed Lehman minibonds have been pressing the government to help salvage their investments. The central bank has not ruled out buying back Lehman minibonds.

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