HSBC Holdings Plc was sued by
Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim’s ex-wife, who claimed she
suffered losses because of the bank’s negligence.
Teo Geok Fong, who started investing with private banks
after her divorce settlement in 2002, claims she was misled into
believing certain products were suitable for her risk profile,
according to her lawsuit filed against HSBC’s Singapore unit.
The London-based bank has denied wrongdoing.
HSBC “was always eager, motivated by their own commercial
interests and/or financial benefits” to persuade her to buy
products including accumulators, decumulators and equity-linked
notes, according to Teo’s complaint filed in the Singapore High
Court. The homemaker with high-school education trusted her
banker’s advice, she said in the complaint.
“Our client is pursuing this action rigorously in the
courts and expects a favorable outcome,” Teo’s lawyer Eugene
Thuraisingam said in an e-mail today.
HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, asked the court to dismiss
Teo’s lawsuit, according to its defense filed last month. Gareth Hewett, a Hong Kong-based spokesman at HSBC, declined to comment
on the lawsuit.
Teo presented herself as a sophisticated and experienced
investor and stated she had at least five other private bank
accounts, according to HSBC’s filing. As her portfolio grew, so
did her risk appetite and she alone was responsible for her
investments, HSBC said.
‘Remisier King’
Teo received as much as S$50 million ($39 million) from her
divorce settlement with Lim, who’s also known as “Remisier
King,” HSBC said in court papers. In 2006, Teo told her other
bankers to deliver S$500,000 profits a year on her individual
accounts, according to court papers.
Lim offered to buy Valencia soccer club, a two-time
Champions League finalist, last year. In 2010, he offered 320
million pounds ($525 million) to buy Premier League team
Liverpool, which was eventually acquired by the Boston Red Sox’s
owner-group.
Lim, a former stockbroker, became a billionaire through
holdings in palm oil producers and a chain of Manchester United
cafes in Asia.
The case is Teo Geok Fong v The Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corp., Singapore Branch. S1105/2013. Singapore High
Court.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrea Tan in Singapore at
atan17@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Douglas Wong at
dwong19@bloomberg.net
HSBC Sued by Singapore Billionaire Lim"s Ex-Wife
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