MAS NOTIFIES DESMOND ORLANDO DANKER OF DISSATISFACTION WITH HIS PAST PERFORMANCE

1 On 14 June 2010, MAS notified Desmond Orlando Danker, formerly a financial adviser’s representative of DBS Bank Ltd (“DBS”), that it was not satisfied as to the record of his past performance in providing financial advisory service as a financial adviser’s representative.

2 DBS is licensed as a bank under the Banking Act (Cap. 32). It is exempted from holding a financial adviser’s licence in Singapore in respect of any financial advisory service pursuant to section 23(1)(a) of the Financial Advisers Act (Cap 110).

3 In April 2007 Mr Danker recommended to clients structured notes linked to Lehman Brothers that were issued by DBS on the basis that the clients had understood the features of the product. However neither the clients’ education, employment status and investment background supported this conclusion. The clients are a 58 year-old taxi driver who is educated up to secondary 1 and his wife, aged 56, a housewife who has primary school-level education. Both have received only Chinese language-medium education, do not speak or read English and their previous investments in DBS were limited to fixed deposits.

4 MAS views Mr Danker’s performance as unsatisfactory. Mr Danker has since left the financial industry and ceased to provide financial advisory services. MAS has notified Mr Danker that had he continued to provide financial advisory services as a representative, MAS would have issued an order prohibiting him from providing any financial advisory service and from providing any financial advisory service by taking part, directly or indirectly, in the management of any financial adviser in Singapore for six months.