:: Singapore Investment Banking Association

EQUITY DERIVATIVES AND STRUCTURED PRODUCTS

Summary of activities during 2009

DIALOGUE SESSIONS WITH THE MAS
The Committee initiated a dialogue session with the MAS with regard to our interest to provide feedback on regulation of structured notes (involving both debt and equity). Several meetings were held with the MAS to discuss and provide informal feedback to the MAS on structured products and the proposal of the consultation paper.



MAS CONSULTATION PAPER - APRIL 2009
MAS issued a Consultation Paper on the Review of the Regulatory Regime governing the Sale and Marketing of Unlisted Investment Products in April 2009. SIBA, with the assistance of Allen & Gledhill, provided comments and feedback to the MAS on several proposals in the Consultation Paper.


TASK FORCE
Several meetings were held among SIBA working group, the MAS and the other industry organisations to work on both the Product Highlight Sheet (PHS) and the new CMFAS module arising from the Consultation Paper on the Review of the Regulatory Regime of the Sale and Marketing of Unlisted Investment Products in May 2009. SIBA members were elected to seat on the respective committees to develop the framework of PHS and CMFAS module. Three representatives of SIBA were appointed for each working committee to represent the development of PHS and CMFAS module respectively. There were a number of meetings with the MAS pertaining to this development during the second half of 2009. The MAS and the working groups hope to finalise the PHS and CMFAS by earlier 2010.


CONTINUING EDUCATION
A dialogue session was held with the MAS and the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) together with the respective Chairperson of Structured Products and Debts Capital Markets to explore investor education for structured products. The meeting was convened to discuss and explore the possibility of organising educational seminars when new structured products are launched. The intention of the seminars is to provide consumers with the opportunity to gain sufficient understanding of the products and also listen to views from independent parties like SIAS, SMU’s Sim Kee Boon Institue (SKBI) etc before deciding to invest in such products. In addition, these seminars should also target to build consumer confidence in these investment products and also build a community of informed investors in Singapore in the long term.

MAS, so far through MoneySENSE, has collaborated with associations /industry to promote investor education on product types but not for structured products as yet. MoneySENSE is also in discussions with ABS/product distributors, SIAS and SKBI to run education programmes