I agree with the points in the Forum letter “More scrutiny of risk-profile assessments needed” (Dec 27). The scrutiny should go beyond the language literacy of the investor to how the financial needs analysis (FNA) is often conducted in a sales process.

I know from experience that the FNA may not be conducted before any selling because it may hamper product sales of higher value.

After the selling is done, customers are told: “It’s just a formality, but you need to fill up the FNA.”

By that time, the customer has already been sold the product.

The risk profiling should be used to ascertain effectively the suitability of the product being sold, and should also be examined by independent assessors instead of bank superiors who may be deemed to have a conflict of interest.

Banks also seem to follow a pattern of sales tactics.

Whenever customers deposit above a certain sum of money, the assigned relationship manager (RM) will call upon the unsuspecting customer to accord him the privilege of Priority Banking status.

Besides attending to banking needs, the RMs will also try to sell more financial products.

Prospecting should not be done in the homes of unwary customers for obvious reasons, especially to the elderly with accumulated savings wanting better returns, who may be susceptible to the misselling of unsuitable products.

From Straits Times Invest editor Tan Ooi Boon’s article “Elderly woman being duped into risky investment by bank employee” (Dec 24), it does appear that misconduct and misselling are more prevalent and systemic than I had thought.

I’ve also been missold products by a bank representative and have suffered in silence. The bank had all its grounds covered with “fine print” and disclaimers.

As pointed out in the Forum letter, I also did not know where to turn to and had to blame my sheer stupidity for trusting the bank and its representatives.

I commend the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the governance of Credit Suisse’s process and practices to protect the integrity of banking institutions built over decades of development (Credit Suisse handed $3.9m civil penalty by MAS for relationship managers’ misconduct, Dec 28).

We don’t want to have to warn customers to be careful with their wealth when dealing with banks, known typically as being customers’ custodians of wealth.

Ong Seow Hoe