Insurers vow to prevent regulatory violation

Aviva Singapore and Prudential Assurance vowed to ensure internal controls are in place to prevent the recurrence of regulatory breaches.

Both companies were responding to the reprimand issued yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on regulatory breaches at the insurers, including at AIA Financial Advisers.

An Aviva spokesman said the lapses identified by the MAS occurred prior to the sale of Aviva Singapore to a consortium led by Singapore Life which was completed in November.

Since then, Aviva said, it has made leadership changes to strengthen management effectiveness and accelerate culture change.

"Following the transaction, the newly constituted board has invested significant time and resources to address the underlying issues. We have strengthened our controls to prevent the recurrence of such issues, and these are being validated by an independent external auditor," the spokesman said.

"We take our responsibility towards effective governance and regulatory compliance very seriously. We will ensure we hold ourselves to high standards on regulatory compliance. Going forward, creating great customer experiences backed by quality advice is our top priority."

Prudential Singapore in a statement said: "We will work closely with the MAS to further enhance our controls in relation to the Balanced Scorecard Framework and accompanying risk management measures, in view of resolving the issues raised so we can continue to provide the highest standard of service to our customers."

AIA did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

MAS also reprimanded Mr Peter Tan Shou Yi, a consultant engaged by Aviva, for accepting remuneration in breach of regulatory requirements, and Aviva Financial Advisers' chief executive and director, Mr Lionel Chee Boon Chai, for his failure to discharge the duties of his office.

Mr Tan and his company, Peter Tan Organisation Management and Consultancy, were sued in 2019 by Prudential for up to $2.5 billion for allegedly "surreptitiously" orchestrating a mass defection to Aviva's subsidiary, Aviva Financial Advisers, in mid-2016.

Last month, the High Court found he had breached his agency agreement in soliciting the defection.