Singapore, 31 August 2022… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a composition penalty of $375,000 on UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) for its failures to comply with business conduct requirements under the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations (SFR) and anti-money...

MAS renewed its Statement of Commitment to the updated Foreign Exchange (FX) Global Code. MAS reaffirms its adherence to the principles of the Code as a market participant, and the alignment of its internal practices and processes with these principles. MAS strongly encourages all wholesale FX market participants in Singapore to adhere to the latest version of the Code.

Bank Indonesia (BI) and MAS announced the commencement of work on a cross-border QR payment linkage between Indonesia and Singapore as part of the ASEAN-wide payments connectivity effort. BI and MAS have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions such as trade and direct investments.

This information paper follows from a series of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) thematic inspections and engagements conducted by MAS of selected external asset managers. It sets out MAS’ supervisory expectations for effective AML/CFT frameworks and controls and includes good practices and illustrative examples observed.

This semi-annual brief on the Singapore economy also discusses external developments pertinent to our assessment of near-term economic prospects.

MAS conducted thematic inspections on the operational risk management standards and practices of selected banks, with a focus on third party risk management. The paper sets out MAS’ supervisory expectations, good practices, improvement areas and case examples observed from the inspections.