Mrs Koh Juat Jong, Chairman, FIDReC
Industry leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Opening
1. Today marks FIDReC's 20th anniversary! It’s a significant milestone for Singapore's financial sector.
a. We celebrate 20 years of trusted dispute resolution by FIDReC. Since your establishment in 2005, you have established yourself as an indispensable bridge between consumers and financial institutions.
2. Many of you may know that our Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is one of Singapore’s richest natural ecosystems. The Wetlands may seem quiet, but they are teeming with life, constantly mediating between fresh and salt water, between land and sea. They provide balance, resilience, and a safe space for diverse species to thrive.
a. In many ways, FIDReC plays a similar role in our financial ecosystem. You provide the steady, trusted environment where different interests — consumers and financial institutions — can come together, resolve disputes, and build trust. Just as our wetlands filter and restore balance in nature, FIDReC helps filter disputes and restore confidence in our markets.
Looking Back
3. Why was FIDReC started?
a. 20 years ago in 2005, Singapore already established itself as a regional financial hub. But the dispute resolution landscape then was fragmented.
b. Consumers had to file their cases with different organisations
- Consumer Mediation Unit for banking disputes.
- Insurance Dispute Resolution Organisation for insurance matters.
- There was no similar recourse avenue for capital markets matters.
c. FIDReC was set up to be Singapore's first integrated one-stop centre to resolve disputes across the financial sector. It fundamentally transformed how consumers had their disputes mediated and adjudicated affordably.
Now
4. Since then, FIDReC has strengthened public trust by providing consumers with a credible avenue for redress, marked by strong commitment to accessibility and better meeting public needs. And you have, over the years, been consistently evolving to meet these changing needs.
a. In 2008, you launched the Non-Injury Motor Accident Scheme to help motorists and insurers reduce claim costs. More recently, you expanded your mandate to serve small businesses and charities.
b. In 2021, you embarked on a digital transformation, making your website and portal more accessible to a digital base.
5. Today, Singapore is known as a leading financial centre not just because of our strong regulatory framework and vibrant business environment, but also because of the trust and confidence all stakeholders can expect through fair treatment and accessible recourse when, inevitably, disputes arise.
6. FIDReC and member FIs can be proud of what you have achieved over these two decades.
a. When FIDReC first started in 2005, it handled approximately 500 claims in its first financial year. Today that number is into the thousands each year. In fact, you’ve handled more than 22,000 cases since 2005. Most importantly, despite the high volume, you have maintained consistently high resolution rates.
b. Over 80% of cases are resolved at mediation.
c. Consumer satisfaction rates have consistently surpassed 80%.
d. You maintain an 85% or higher completion rate within six months, ensuring timely resolution for consumers. These swift resolutions restore confidence in the system and helps consumers.
7. Over the years, you have reviewed your scope and policies to remain relevant.
a. For example, you onboarded payment service providers as subscribers in Dec 2024.
b. More recently, you raised adjudication limits to S$150,000 to reflect higher quantum losses in scams and medical claims.
8. As a result, many consumers who come to FIDReC have found that the process also helps them better understand the products they signed up for, while also encouraging financial institutions to pause and reflect on how they can better communicate and serve customers, to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.
The Next Bound – Upholding Fair Dealing in an Increasingly Complex Financial Landscape
9. As you enter the next chapter in your next 20 years, I’m sure you’re already thinking of what areas you’d like to focus on. If I may suggest – one area is in how to elevate fair dealing standards.
a. Fair dealing is critical because many disputes can be prevented at source, before they escalate. When financial institutions design, offer, and recommend suitable products, and provide timely and responsive services.
10. In this rapidly evolving landscape, what constitutes fairness will constantly be called into question. And every stakeholder in our financial ecosystem can and indeed must play a part in upholding and uplifting fair dealing standards across the industry.
11. MAS’ Fair Dealing Guidelines (FDG) provides the framework for what fair dealing standards should look like in practice. Let me break it up into the specific roles to address the specific stakeholders among us today – the MAS, FIs, FIDReC Case Managers and Mediators, and Adjudicators.
A. For MAS
a. MAS published these Guidelines to raise standards of fair dealing and improve the experience of customers when they deal with financial institutions (FIs).
b. They apply to all FIs, and to all products and services that FIs offer to their customers.
c. FIs must embed fair dealing principles at each stage of a product's life cycle and across the services they provide, preferably, by design, upstream.
12. Last year, MAS expanded the Guidelines to cover the full range of financial institutions and products.
a. We will continue updating illustrative examples in the Guidelines to ensure it remains relevant.
13. Since issuing the updated FDG, MAS has engaged the larger banks on how they have incorporated fair dealing across their business lines and throughout their customer service journey.
a. This year, we will conduct a thematic review into complaints handling by major banks and insurers.
b. We are doing so to assess how complaints are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and to see how management at financial institutions use complaints as a feedback loop to identify blind spots and strengthen practices.
c. By handling complaints thoughtfully and systematically, financial institutions address individual issues effectively, and build the foundations to resolve disputes efficiently and fairly. This fosters trust and confidence among their customers.
B. For Financial Institutions
14. You have an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to fair dealing in ways that foster deeper trust with your customers. It’s helpful to see complaints as feedback, not as burdens but as valuable signals that highlight areas for improvement.
15. In this regard, I hope FIs view FIDReC’s insights as important guidance to improve consumer protection standards, rather than as regulatory obligations.
16. I encourage all financial institutions to engage proactively with FIDReC’s processes and learn from the principles established through its dispute resolution work.
C. For FIDReC Case Managers and Mediators
17. When we apply fair dealing at every stage of the dispute resolution process, we can prevent disputes from escalating and hopefully lead to more effective and satisfactory outcomes for all parties.
18. FIDReC's mediation process exemplifies this approach. Over 80% of cases are resolved through mediation. This high success rate demonstrates the value of bringing parties together in a collaborative environment where fairness principles guide discussions towards mutually acceptable solutions.
19. FIDReC’s case managers and mediators are well placed to drive fair outcomes. They are mediation experts and possess strong knowledge of the financial sector. They are also able to look beyond technical policy interpretations to help parties appreciate the fuller context of a case.
20. In one travel insurance dispute, a family arranged their own medical evacuation after a medical emergency overseas.
a. The claim initially appeared invalid under strict policy terms. However, during mediation, and under the encouragement of FIDReC’s case manager, the patient’s spouse shared her recollection of the ordeal.
b. Her account shifted the discussion from narrow policy clauses to the human impact of the case, leading the insurer to settle the claim in full.
c. This is how mediators can surface perspectives that lead to fairer and more durable outcomes.
21. I urge FIDReC’s mediators and case managers to continue exploring perspectives beyond technical interpretations. Draw on your regulatory knowledge and industry expertise to help parties understand their respective interests and issues at hand.
D. For Adjudicators
22. Adjudicators are stewards of industry standards. You have the authority to enforce fairness principles through binding decisions on financial institutions.
23. I encourage you to draw on case studies in MAS's Fair Dealing Guidelines. which sets out a clear "waterline" of what fairness should look like in practice, and what MAS expects of financial institutions in specific circumstances.
a. Please continue to consult this evolving repository of examples in the FDG, and use them to inform your decisions and consistently uphold principles of fair dealing.
24. In a recent case, a consumer alleged he was misled into purchasing an investment product.
a. FI argued that it had met disclosure obligations, and provided the required documents, which the consumer signed.
b. The adjudicator was sharp. Upon deeper examination, the adjudicator found that the consumer should have been deemed as a vulnerable customer, and that there was no basis to how the rep had completed the consumer’s financial needs analysis i.e. labelling him as “aggressive” in risk profile, and possessing the requisite knowledge of the investment product.
c. The adjudicator’s deeper inquiry revealed gaps in fair dealing practices that were not apparent from the documents alone, and ensured a substantively fair outcome.
25. Like this sharp adjudicator, I trust our adjudicators will continue to look beyond bare facts and evidence presented when circumstances suggest that fairness principles may not have been fully upheld. It is this ability to probe deeper, that ensures outcomes are not just technically sound but also substantively fair, based on the merits of each case.
26. Ultimately, fair dealing is a shared responsibility. MAS sets the standards, financial institutions observe them, and FIDReC ensures they are upheld through mediation and adjudication. Through this collective commitment, Singapore’s financial sector can continue to strengthen the trust it has earned over decades of responsible growth.
Conclusion
27. On behalf of my colleagues at MAS, a warm and hearty congratulations to FIDReC's Board, management, case managers, mediators, adjudicators, and staff for your dedication, professionalism, and sense of mission in building trust between consumers and financial institutions.
28. The financial sector will continue evolving with new products and services, which will entail new risks, and new expectations of fair dealing that FIDReC must navigate adroitly.
29. FIDReC is uniquely positioned to build on its strong foundations of adaptability, strong expertise, and collaborative spirit to continue uplifting fair dealing standards.
30. I mentioned earlier that I will be heading to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves shortly. The Wetlands are living testaments to the importance of trust and ecological balance. They show us how different forces can coexist in harmony when there is a system that mediates fairly and sustains life for the long term.
31. FIDReC has been such a system for our financial ecosystem for the past 20 years — filtering disputes, fostering trust, and enabling growth.
32. As we look ahead, may you continue to be that steady environment where fairness flourishes, just as our Wetlands remain a sanctuary for resilience and life.
