May
04
2010
In the past couple of years, many claims were made by investors who bought structured products which had collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) embedded in them.
Recently, it was reported that Goldman Sachs was being charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud in some of their CDO deals. In addition, some other banks might also be investigated.
In view of the developments in the US, someone wrote in to the Straits Times forum to ask whether
MAS would be doing its own investigations into the troubled CDOs that were sold here.
The reply from MAS mentioned that MAS would take regulatory action where there is a breach but leaves it open whether it would be doing any investigations.
I refer to “Should MAS act?” (ST Forum, 24 April 2010).
Entities offering securities to the public in Singapore are required to comply with the Securities and Futures Act which, among other things, requires proper disclosure of the features and risks of the product. Where there is a breach of regulation or law, MAS will take appropriate regulatory action. MAS also monitors developments in various jurisdictions. However, not all developments in other jurisdictions will be equally applicable in Singapore.
Angelina Fernandez
Director (Communications)
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Apr
19
2010
A US law firm, Kirby McInerney, has spoken about possible legal action that can be taken in US Courts in connection with the Pinnacle Notes.
Some investors have already expressed interest to join this action but the law firm needs more members to take part before they can proceed. There is no upfront fee involved to join the suit. Investors will only need to pay Kirby McInerney if they are successful in their law suit and the fee will be based on a percentage of the money recovered from the financial institution that is being sued.
Investors of Pinnacle Notes who are interested to join the suit or need more information can send an e-mail to tkla.km@gmail.com providing the following information:
- your name
- mobile phone
- email address
- amount invested
- type of Pinnacle Notes (which series)
As I understand, the law suit is not against the distributor of the Pinnacle Notes so those who have already settled on a partial compensation with their distributor would still be able to join.
Feb
04
2010
The payout value of the various Minibond series was announced yesterday. Depending on which Minibond tranche you held, the percentage of recovery will range from 21.5% to 70.8%.
Tranche Series Percentage Recovery* (%)
Series 01 Tranche A (SGD Notes ) 21.5
Series 01 Tranche B (USD Notes) 24.0
Series 02 Tranche A (SGD Notes) 62.4
Series 02 Tranche B (USD Notes) 70.8
Series 03 Tranche A (SGD Notes) 55.9
Series 03 Tranche B (USD Notes) 64.0
Series 03 Tranche C (AUD Notes) 47.3
Series 05 (SGD Notes) 29.8
Series 06 (SGD Notes) 40.0
Series 07 (SGD Notes) 59.5
Series 08 (SGD Notes) 63.1
Series 09 (SGD Notes) 57.7
Series 10 (USD Notes) 62.4
I had expected about 50-60% recovery values for the different series and the majority indeed does fall into that range. Series 1 and 5 Minibond holders are the worst off in the amount they are getting. The series with the most number of investors are series 2, 3 and 5.
Payments to the noteholders will be made on 12 February 2010. The actual date that you receive your payment will depend on whether you hold a direct account with CDP or whether you hold the Notes through a nominee account.
More news on this:
HSBC Minibond Announcements
MAS Welcomes Announcement of Distribution of the Recovery Values of the Minibond Notes
Payout for Minibond Holders From 12 Feb (CNA)
Jan
26
2010
Based on the
letter from Morgan Stanley about a week ago, each Pinnacle Notes Series 3 investor will get back US$152.51 and US99.23 (to be converted to SGD) for tranche A and B respectively.
This redemption value is based on a capital of US$5000 and S$5000 for tranche A and B respectively. This works out to be about 3% of the original investment amount. Unfortunately, for those who did not know about the exact nature of the Pinnacle Notes, they will be in for a nasty surprise.
Jan
22
2010
POSB Invest Equity Series 1 is a 4-year 11-month Structured Deposit that was recently launched by POSB.
The POSB Invest Equity gives fixed payouts over the term with the potential of a bonus payout if three Singapore blue chip stocks (SGX, SIA and Keppel Corp) perform well.
The fixed payouts are as follows:
- Year 1 : 1.38%
- Year 2 : 1.38%
- Year 3 : 1.38%
- Year 4 : 1.38%
- Year 5 : 1.86%
Assuming no bonus payout, the effective interest rate over the period of the investment is 1.48% p.a. (as given on POSB website).
If the prices of ALL three blue chip stocks are 20% higher compared to the prices at the start, then a bonus payout of 2.5% will be given. With the bonus payout, the effective interest rate works out to be 1.96% p.a.
A minimum of $5000 is required to invest in the POSB Invest Equity Series 1. As this is a structured deposit, the investment will not be insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation in the event POSB goes bust.
