Stefanie Yuen Thio was quoted in The Edge (October 27) on whether the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) should enhance avenues for investor recourse. The article followed news that Drew & Napier is set to sue Switzerland for about US$300 million on behalf of roughly 560 Credit Suisse bondholders across Asia, after the Swiss government’s 2023 decision to write down 16.5 billion Swiss francs of additional tier-1 (AT1) debt.

Stefanie said that, under a more disclosure-based regime, investors should—where appropriate—hold the board and management of listed companies accountable for material failures or inadequacies of disclosure. She noted that, at present, the information companies must provide to minority investors is extremely narrow, making it effectively impossible to commence a well-founded lawsuit. She looks forward to statutory changes that give investors easier access to information to inform potential claims, balanced against the need to protect companies’ confidential data.

She added that any new MAS framework must have a “clearly defined scope” of offences, otherwise management could be held hostage to threats of litigation whenever there is disagreement over how a company is run—risking business paralysis and increased risk aversion. Stefanie also cautioned that the proposal remains “tricky”, calling for clear, ongoing accreditation criteria to ensure relevant organisations remain “fit for purpose”, with governance safeguards to deter vexatious securities litigation.