Clifford Chance

Bank wins decade-long Hong Kong mis-selling case

24 August 2018

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has handed a decisive win to the defendant bank in the latest mis-selling case to come before the courts. In Shine Grace Investment Ltd v. Citibank, N.A. [2018] HKEC 2123, the Court found overwhelmingly in favour of the bank, rejecting all of the plaintiff's claims. Clifford Chance acted for the bank.

The Court held that the relevant contractual terms were inconsistent with any alleged duty to advise, and on the facts, there were no other relevant factual circumstances surrounding the dealings between the parties to suggest any assumption of legal responsibility by the bank to advise on the suitability or the risks of the investments. The decision re-affirms the effectiveness of non-reliance clauses in bank-customer contracts following the approach taken by the courts in previous mis-selling cases. 

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