Dear Sir,

I refer to "No deal but insurance certificates sent" by Ong Swee Seng (ST Forum, 17 Jan 2004).

2   Under the Banking Act, bank staff are allowed access to customer information for the purpose of performing their duties. These may include, among others, the marketing of financial products and services to bank customers.

3   The Banking Act also allows banks to disclose customers' identification information and contact details to other financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for purposes of cross marketing of financial products and services. Financial institutions that receive such customer information are prohibited from further disclosing the information to other third parties. Financial information cannot be disclosed without customer consent.  

4   Bank customers may, however, request their bank not to use their personal information for marketing purposes. This is provided for under the Code of Consumer Banking Practice administered by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS).
 
5   All financial institutions regulated by MAS are expected to have in place an internal dispute resolution process to ensure that customer enquiries and complaints are dealt with fairly, promptly and consistently. Mr Ong should contact Citibank directly with regard to his concerns about the bank's practices.

Yours sincerely,

Angelina Fernandez
Director (Communications)