Fair Dealing

The 2008 financial crisis led lawmakers and regulators around the world to closely scrutinise the interactions between financial institutions and their customers. These efforts included a renewed and heightened focus on the concept of 'fair dealing'. Were firms being open and honest with their customers? Were they providing customers with products suited to their needs? Were they taking customer complaints seriously? Many regulators and commentators indicated that firms were falling short in these and other areas.

In 2009, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) introduced the 'Guidelines on Fair Dealing - Board and Senior Management Responsibilities for Delivering Fair Dealing Outcomes to Customers' to promote fair dealing by financial institutions when they conduct business with their customers. The Guidelines incorporate lessons learned from the financial crisis as well as public comments on earlier MAS draft proposals.

The Guidelines establish five fair dealing outcomes that MAS expects firms to achieve: (1) a culture of fair dealing, (2) clear and relevant disclosures to customers, (3) suitable products, (4) competent representatives, and (5) independent and fair complaint handling. MAS expectations are supported by clear recommendations for training, internal compliance, remuneration systems and recordkeeping.

The Guidelines also reflect the MAS’s view that everyone in a financial institution is responsible for ensuring that customers are treated fairly. All employees therefore have legal and ethical obligations to make fair dealing an integral part of every customer interaction. 

The topics covered in the course include:

• Introduction to Fair Dealing Outcomes
• Outcome One: A Fair Dealing Culture
• Outcome Two: Suitability
• Outcome Three: Competent Representatives
• Outcome Four: Clear, Relevant and Timely Information
• Outcome Five: Proper Complaint Handling