Credit Suisse Fails To Persuade Singapore Court To Dismiss Lawsuit

Tom Burroughes

4 September 2014

Credit Suisse has lost an attempt to dismiss a lawsuit by a former private wealth client who is accusing its Singapore unit of failing to explain the risks of a complex investment product, Bloomberg reported.

The Zurich-listed bank declined to comment to this publication about the matter, saying it does not discuss litigation matters.

The news service's report said former stockbroker Koh Kim Teck sued the unit for $26 million, claiming it gave him too little time to raise collateral in October 2008 after he suffered losses from what are called “knock-out discount accumulators”. These are derivatives that commit investors to buying securities over a certain stretch of time.

The bank has stated the complaint is frivolous because the Singapore resident is pursuing it in his personal capacity when it was his company, Smiling Sun, that had the banking relationship, the report said, citing court papers.

Singapore High Court Assistant Registrar Paul Chan reportedly rejected Credit Suisse’s request for the case to be thrown out on that basis. He ordered the bank to present a defence case by 11 September unless it appeals.