Largest private banking claim before the Singapore courts for US$282 million
11 Jun 2020WongPartnership has successfully defended a major global bank in a litigation involving the largest private banking claim in Singapore.
The Plaintiffs, beneficially owned by a Taiwanese business magnate, sought to hold the bank liable for the entirety of the investment losses, amounting to US$282 million, sustained in their non-discretionary accounts during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. The Plaintiffs’ claims for breach of implied and express terms of the contract, negligence and misrepresentation were dismissed by the High Court. The Plaintiffs’ appeal against the High Court’s decision in respect of their negligence and misrepresentation claims was similarly dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
This case raises various issues including the significance of a private banking customer’s own investment views and experience in determining the nature and extent of any duty of care that may be owed by the bank as well as the frequency and extent of the information that banks are required to provide to their private banking customers in respect of non-discretionary accounts.
Our Chairman & Senior Partner, Alvin Yeo, Senior Counsel, along with Head of Specialist & Private Client Disputes Sim Bock Eng, Partner Aw Wen Ni, and associates Tan Kia Hua and Darrell Lee acted for the bank in this dispute.