Therefore, in 1997, we stated the rule should be “Caveat Emptor” - let the buyer beware, and watch out for his own interests. However, we have not left consumers entirely alone to fend for themselves. There may be an imbalance of power between consumers and financial institutions. Consumers may lack information and resources to participate confidently and knowledgeably in the marketplace. Thus, MAS has helped to empower consumers and to promote fair dealing by establishing a regulatory framework for  increased information disclosure and sound market and business conduct standards. This regulatory regime requires offerors of investments to provide full, timely, accurate and meaningful disclosure of information to consumers, on a continuous basis. The intent is for consumers to make their own informed decisions. One objective of the “Money-SENSE” financial education programme is to equip consumers with the skills and tools to evaluate financial products, judge the risks involved and take responsibility for their actions. To address the issue of mis-selling and misrepresentation by financial intermediaries, MAS has facilitated the setting up of affordable and efficient channels for aggrieved consumers to seek recourse. This is necessary if market discipline is to work, and consumers are to receive fair dealing. With these channels in place, we aim to develop consumer self-reliance. Let me now illustrate these principles with two examples. My first example is the AIA Critical Year issue.
Investment banks whose customers were professional investors had a freer hand, but no safety net.8 Banking gradually became a growth industry in many countries. Strict regulations in one country prompt banks to flee to another. The result was the dilution or elimination of many regulations that attempted to rein in the imagination of the financial sector. The rationale behind the Glass-Steagall Act was discarded. This trend was universal. Unfettered financial markets were apparently a success. Mortgage-backed securities enabled more Americans to become homeowners, and a bullish stock market was good for pension funds – as long as it lasted.9  7  Debt levels among European countries were, on the whole, excessive in 2008, though this varied substantially from country to country. For example, Ireland and Spain had moderate sovereign debt, but both countries have later incurred additional obligations owing to the problems in their banking sectors. By 2008, the government debt of Italy and Greece had already exceeded 100 percent of GDP. 8  In the US, under the Glass-Steagall Act, which was passed in 1933, banks were no longer allowed to engage in retail banking (deposits, lending and payment services) while also engaging in more risky investment banking activities. When the act was formally repealed in 1999, it had long been the subject of intense discussion in the academic literature.