Action after the fact
The Sunday Times did a special report on Relationship Mangers (RM) titled “How pushy can they get” in the midst of the current uproar over the alleged mis-selling of structured notes. In the report published today (28th Sept) were interviews with angry customers, ex and current RMs, various banks and a ‘undercover operation” using mystery shoppers to test out RMs from various banks. The ‘undercover operation’ seems to indicate that things were done the correct way most if not all the time. How creditable are the results obtained obtained from the mystery shoppers?
In my opinion, having this mystery shopping right after the explosion of the Lehman ‘Minibombs’ is akin to checking on the security level in the Ministry of Home Affairs detention centre soon after Mas Selemat has escaped. Do you expect things to remain the same?
I am not saying that the RMs are putting on a show due to the recency of structured notes saga, there are RMs who are really professional and ethical. I am just having doubts on the accuracy of the picture painted in the report, especially when the ‘operation’ was carried out at a time like this when the bear is snaring and the authorities are watching.
Carry out the ‘undercover operation’ when the markets have recovered and the furry died down and we might have a different picture. But would anyone have cared when stock markets is defying gravity? From previous experiences, it seems unlikely.
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Tags: Mis-selling
